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Federal Court
Coat of Arms of the Federal Court granted in 2008
Established	2003
Jurisdiction	Canada
Location	Ottawa
Authorized by	Constitution Act, 1867, Federal Courts Act & Courts Administration Service Act
Number of positions	29
Website	Federal Court
Chief Justice
Currently	Allan Lutfy
Since	July 2, 2003

The Federal Court is a Canadian trial court that hears cases arising under certain areas of federal law. The Federal Court is a superior court with nationwide jurisdiction. The court was created on July 2, 2003 by the Courts Administration Service Act when it and the Federal Court of Appeal were split from their predecessor, the Federal Court of Canada.

On October 24, 2008, the Federal Court was given its own Armorial bearings by the Governor General, the third court in Canada to be given its own Coat of Arms - after the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and Ontario Superior Court of Justice. ^[1]

Structure

The Federal Court consists of a Chief Justice and thirty-two other judges. Currently, there are 28 full-time judges (leaving five vacancies in the Court), along with three supernumerary judges, three deputy judges, and six prothonotaries.

Law Clerks are hired for one-year terms to help the judges research and prepare decisions. They are generally assigned to a particular judge.

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 decisions,
• intellectual property disputes,
• cases involving admiralty (maritime) law,
• various aboriginal law matters, and
• claims against the Queen 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 decisions made by most federal boards, commissions, and administrative tribunals, and to resolve lawsuits by or against the federal government.

Decisions of the Federal Court may be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal. 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 prothonotaries

The judges in order of seniority are:

• Allan Lutfy (Chief Justice)
• James K. Hugessen (Supernumerary)
• Yvon Pinard, P.C.(Supernumerary)
• Frederick E. Gibson (Supernumerary)
• Sandra J. Simpson
• Danièle Tremblay-Lamer
• Douglas R. Campbell
• François Lemieux
• John A. O'Keefe
• Elizabeth Heneghan
• Dolores Hansen
• Eleanor R. Dawson
• Edmond P. Blanchard
• Michael A. Kelen
• Michel Beaudry
• Luc Martineau
• Carolyn Layden-Stevenson
• Simon Noël
• Judith A. Snider
• James Russell
• Johanne Gauthier
• James O'Reilly
• Sean J. Harrington
• Richard Mosley
• Michel M.J. Shore
• Michael L. Phelan
• Anne L. Mactavish
• Yves de Montigny
• Roger T. Hughes
• Robert L. Barnes
• Leonard S. Mandamin
• Russel Zinn
• Barry L. Strayer (Deputy)
• Max M. Teitelbaum (Deputy)
• Maurice E. Lagacé (Deputy)
• Orville Frenette (Deputy)

The prothonotaries of the court by seniority are:

• Richard Morneau
• Roza Aronovitch
• Roger Lafrenière
• Mireille Tabib
• Martha Milczynski
• Kevin R. Aalto

References

External links

• Federal Court website

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