NCJ Number
175591
Date Published
1997
Length
480 pages
Annotation
This history of the Federal Court of Canada details its main functions since its creation as the Exchequer Court of Canada in 1875; its judges and their decisionmaking; its role in adjudicating disputes between individuals and government and as a government court, Federal court, and national court; and its relationship with the Supreme Court of Canada.
Abstract
The analysis also focuses on the court's change to the Federal Court of Canada in 1971 and its accompanying division into the Federal Court of Appeal (Appeal Division) and the Trial Division. The text notes that the court was founded mainly to adjudicate legal disputes in which the Canadian government was involved. Since its name change in 1971, it has become primarily an administrative appeal court dealing with the review of decisions made by Federal administrative tribunals, in addition to its existing jurisdictions related to admiralty, intellectual property, tax issues, and other areas. The analysis focuses on three distinct periods in the court's history. The 1875-1887 period began with the creation of the Exchequer Court of Canada as a trial court connected to the Supreme Court of Canada; the Supreme Court judges traveled and conducted trials sitting as individual judges of the Exchequer Court. The second period began in 1887 when the Exchequer Court became a distinct entity. The number of judges increased from one to two in 1912 and continued to increase to a total of eight just before the establishment of the Federal Court in 1971. The third period began in 1971 and includes the 1990 reforms that took effect in 1992. Photographs, appended list of judges and names of persons interviewed, chapter notes, index of cases, and index of names and terms