Part I – Overview of Canadian Court System In the Canadian court system there are four levels of court. The first level is the provincial or territorial courts, which handle the majority of cases that come through the court system. The second level of court is the provincial or territorial superior courts. These courts deal with more serious criminalities and also take appeals from provincial or territorial court judgments. The federal court deals with different issues, but is on the same level as the provincial or territorial superior court. The next level of court is the provincial courts of appeal and federal court of appeal. The highest level of court is the Supreme Court of Canada. (Department of Justice) The provincial or territorial …show more content…
This Court has jurisdiction over disputes in all areas of law including criminal, civil, constitutional and administrative law. This court consists of eight judges and a Chief Justice, which are all appointed by the federal government. The Supreme Court Act requires that at least three of the judges must come from Quebec. The other six judges, three of whom come from Ontario, two from western Canada, and one comes from the Atlantic Provinces. The Court sets in Ottawa during winter, spring and fall. Before the Supreme Court of Canada can hear a case, it must have exhausted all available appeals at other levels of court. Even then, the Court must allow permission or “leave” to appeal before it will even hear the case. A leave application is done in writing and reviewed by three members of the Court, who then allow or deny the request without reason. A leave to appeal is not given regularly, it is only given in cases involving a question of public significance. In some situations the right to appeal is automatic, like where a court of appeal has found someone guilty who had been found innocent at the original trial. The Supreme Court of Canada is also an adviser to the federal government on important matters of law and fact. (Department of …show more content…
Having the opportunity to speak with court/tribunal staff will in a sense give the students a foot in the door, a chance to be remembered or recognized and may be potentially setting them up for future employment with said staff members. This is a great opportunity that all students should take full advantage of and use to their own benefit. What I’m hoping to gain from our court visits and guest speakers is the understanding and knowledge of what future employers are looking for and how to get your foot through the door. I would also like to get an understanding of what the public servants job actually entitles, the ability to build networking skills and the opportunity to make relevant contracts. During our court visits I will try to gain the understanding and perception of skills and responsibilities we will be required to have in order to achieve a future position with in the court. The types of observations that I plan on doing during our court visits is that of observing the role of the registrar, the court proceedings, rules and conduct of the court and how they are being administered. When speaking with a judges or staff member the qualities I believe they will be assessing us how we present ourselves, our attitude, knowledge and skills, ability to