The Federal Court (french: Cour fédérale) is a Canadian

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

that hears cases arising under certain areas of

federal law Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many po ...

. The Federal Court is a superior court with nationwide jurisdiction.

History

The Court was created on July 2, 2003 by the
Courts Administration Service Act
' when it and the

Federal Court of Appeal The Federal Court of Appeal (french: Cour d'appel fédérale) is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters. History Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 empowers the Parliament of Canada to establish "addit ...

were split from their predecessor, the

Federal Court of Canada The Federal Court of Canada, which succeeded the Exchequer Court of Canada in 1971, was a national court of Canada that had limited jurisdiction to hear certain types of disputes arising under the federal government's legislative jurisdiction. O ...

(which had been created June 1, 1971, through the enactment of the ''Federal Court Act'', subsequently renamed the ''Federal Courts Act''. The Court's authority comes from the ''Federal Courts Act''. On October 24, 2008, the Federal Court was given its own

armorial bearings A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

by the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

, the third court in Canada to be given its own

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

– after the

Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada The Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada (CMAC) (french: Cour d'appel de la cour martiale du Canada) hears appeals from Courts-martial of Canada (" courts martial"). In Canada, courts martial are presided over by independent military judges fro ...

and Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The coat of arms features a newly created fantastical creature, the winged sea caribou, as the supporters, representing the provision of justice on air, land and sea.

Structure

The Federal Court consists of a Chief Justice, an Associate Chief Justice, and 35 full-time judges, along with nine supernumerary judges, and eight associate judges. Law Clerks are hired for not more than a one-year terms to help the judges research and prepare decisions. They are generally assigned to a particular judge. Judges' salaries are determined annually by the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission. Chief Justice receives $315,900 while other judges receives $288,100 annually.

Jurisdiction

The Federal Court cannot hear any case unless a federal statute confers jurisdiction on the Court to hear cases of that type. Some examples of the sort of cases heard by the Federal Court are: * judicial review of

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

decisions, * judicial review of

Veterans Review and Appeal Board The Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB; french: Tribunal des anciens combattants (révision et appel)) is a government of Canada agency responsible for hearing reviews and appeals by ill and injured Veterans and members of the Royal Canadian M ...

of Canada decisions, *

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

disputes, * cases involving admiralty (maritime) law, * cases involving federally-regulated industries such as railway tariff disputes * various aboriginal law matters, and * claims against the Crown in right of Canada. These instances of jurisdiction may either be exclusive or concurrent with provincial superior courts, depending on the statute. The Court has the authority to judicially review the decisions made by federal boards, commissions, and administrative tribunals, and to resolve lawsuits by or against the federal government. More than 50% of the Court's workload consists of immigration and refugee cases. Decisions of the Federal Court may be appealed to the

. Because it is a superior court of national jurisdiction, judgments are enforceable across Canada without the need for certification by the courts of a specific province.

Judges and Associate Judges

The associate judges of the court by seniority are: * Mireille Tabib * Martha Milczynski * Kevin R. Aalto * Kathleen Marie Ring * Alexandra Steele * Sylvie M. Molgat * Catherine A. Coughlan * L.E. Trent Horne

Former judges

;Chief Justice * Allan Lutfy: July 3, 2003 – September 30, 2011Lutfy was Associate Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada from December 8, 1999, until the reorganisation. ;Puisne judges

Notes

References

External links

Federal Court website
{{FederalCourtsOfCanada 2003 establishments in Canada Federal Court of Canada Courts and tribunals established in 2003