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 Quebec Judicial System
- Organizational chart of the court system
- The Quebec judicial system - Courts of first instance - Appeal courts - Some important dates in the history of the Quebec judicial system  The Quebec judicial systemFor the uninitiated, the Quebec judicial system can seem pretty complicated.Why is there a Superior Court if there isn’t an Inferior Court? How small does a "small claim" have to be to go to the court by that name? Why don’t people go directly to the Supreme Court, since that’s where all the important cases go anyway? To help you make sense of it all, Éducaloi presents the following brief introduction to the Quebec judicial system. You can learn even more about the courts mentioned here by visiting the sections of our website devoted to them. Justice by the numbers… 145 judges at the Superior Court 270 judges at the Court of Quebec About 22 500 lawyers in Quebec About 80 appeals heard every year by the Supreme Court of Canada 36 judicial districts in Quebec About 3500 notaries in Quebec More than 3100 articles in the Civil Code of Quebec More than 850 sections in the Criminal Code 56 courthouses and judicial services centres in Quebec Courts of first instanceCourts of first instance are the “front line” courts: they are the first to hear a case, so they must deal with the complexity of evidence and witnesses.In Quebec, these courts include the municipal courts, Court of Québec, Superior Court, Federal Court and the Human Rights Tribunal. Municipal courts Municipal courts deal with two kinds of cases: civil cases in which municipalities try to recover money owed by residents for taxes or permits, and penal cases, in which they fine residents who are guilty of breaking municipal regulations. In some cities, like Quebec City and Montreal, municipal judges can also hear criminal cases dealing with summary conviction offences, like loitering. The Court of Québec The Court of Québec includes three divisions: the Civil Division (which in turn includes the Small Claims Division), the Criminal and Penal Division, and the Youth Division. The Civil Division hears cases involving between $7001 and $70 000. The Court of Québec also acts as an appeal court for judgments given by some administrative tribunals, such as the Régie du logement. Cases involving $7 000 and less go to the Small Claims Division. The best-known fact about this court is that the parties cannot be represented by a lawyer. The Criminal and Penal Division of the Court of Québec hears criminal cases dealing with summary conviction offences, as well as cases where the accused chooses to be tried before a judge alone instead of a judge and jury. It also deals with proceedings under penal laws other than the Criminal Code. The Youth Division hears cases of adoption and youth protection, as well as criminal cases where the accused was a minor when the offence took place. Did you know…? The word “bar”, which today designates lawyers as a group, originally comes from the barrier that separated the public and the lawyers in the courtroom. The Superior Court The Superior Court decides cases involving more than $70 000. It is also the only court able to decide injunctions, class actions and anything that the Code of Civil Procedure qualifies as an “extraordinary recourse”: habeas corpus, prohibition and everything else. It hears all cases of divorce and bankruptcy, as well as all cases that are hard to classify, i.e. where the law hasn’t assigned them to another court. The Superior Court also has jurisdiction to try criminal and penal cases. Jury trials are held there, and so are trials for serious crimes (like murder, attempted murder, high treason or the unusual crime of “alarming Her Majesty”!). Finally, the Superior Court acts as an appeal court for decisions rendered in cases of summary conviction offences. Only this court can hear a recourse in evocation (also called judicial review, certiorari or revision), where the court can strike down a decision of a tribunal, public institution or professional corporation that has gone beyond its powers. The Federal Court The Federal Court, as the name implies, hears cases that deal with matters which are federal government responsibilities under the Canadian Constitution. It hears appeals from decisions of certain federal government organizations and decides disputes between provinces themselves, or between provinces and the federal government. It can also hear claims from an individual or business against Canada (or vice-versa!) and deals with some specific subjects, like immigration, copyright, patents, taxes and admiralty. So, if you know an admiral who’s in trouble, talk to the Federal Court. The Human Rights Tribunal The Human Rights Tribunal hears cases dealing with discrimination, harassment or exploitation under the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The Tribunal has its own judges and assessors, but it borrows its clerks and location from the Court of Québec. What makes this court unique is that not everyone can bring an action there. The Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Human Rights Commission) decides which of the complaints it will bring before the Tribunal. The advantage though is that the Commission pays the fees! From the two explanations below, choose the correct definition of an appeal: a) An appeal is a specific recourse addressed to a court of appeal to reverse a judgment which includes an error of law. b) An appeal is a kitchen tool used for peeling carrots. From the two explanations below, choose the correct definition of judicial review: c) Judicial review is a general recourse to cancel a decision from a decision-maker who has not respected the limits of his tribunal’s or organization’s powers. d) Judicial review is what lawyers do so they can pass their examinations in law school. To find out the answers, keep reading! Appeal courtsThese courts hear appeals from judgments given by first-instance courts. Appeals are always based entirely on questions of law. This means that no witnesses appear in these courts, because all the issues of fact (i.e. what actually happened) have already been decided. Only points of law are debated (i.e. how should the law be applied to the facts).In Quebec, the appeal courts are the Federal Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal of Québec and the Supreme Court of Canada. The Federal Court of Appeal The Federal Court of Appeal decides whether certain Federal Court decisions are well-founded. It also has the power to deal with judicial review requests from decisions of federal agencies like the CRTC. The Court of Appeal of Québec Those who want to contest judgments from first-instance courts come before the Court of Appeal of Québec, except for decisions of the Federal Court, which can only be reviewed by the Federal Court of Appeal, and decisions of the Small Claims Court, where there is no appeal. Not everyone gets to contest the decisions, though! Only certain decisions can automatically be appealed (criminal convictions, for example). In other cases, you have to ask permission to appeal a decision. To win, the appellant has to convince the three judges on the appeal court that the first judge made a mistake of law or that he based his decision on factual conclusions that were not supported by the evidence presented (i.e.: decisions that were manifestly unreasonable). The other party (called the “respondent”) of course has the right to argue the opposite. Apart from judging disputes, the Court of Appeal of Québec can take care of misunderstandings related to controversial questions of law. We call this procedure a reference. Sometimes in first-instance courts, two schools of thought emerge on a question of law that cannot be reconciled (the interpretation of an article of a law, for example). The Court of Appeal decides the matter. Answers to the previous test: A and C The Supreme Court of Canada The famous Supreme Court of Canada, composed of nine judges, is the final court in the land. Except for certain criminal cases, permission is needed to bring a judgment to appeal here. This permission can be given based on the file only, without the parties involved having to go all the way to Ottawa. The Supreme Court hears appeals from decisions given by provincial or territorial courts of appeal, or by the Federal Court of Appeal. It decides on provincial references (like the Quebec secession reference, for example) and on questions submitted by the Governor General in Council (the federal government), like the legality of gay marriage. Did you know? Until 1949, you could appeal decisions of the Supreme Court to the Privy Council in London, England. Some important dates in the history of the Quebec judicial system
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