Nova Scotia Court of Appeal


The Court of Appeal for Nova Scotia is the highest appeal court in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. There are currently 8 judicial seats including one assigned to the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia. At any given time there may be one or more additional justices who sit as supernumerary justices.
The court sits in Halifax, which is the capital of Nova Scotia. Cases are heard by a panel of three judges. They publish approximately 80 cases each year.

History

The Court of Appeal was established on 30 January 1993. From 1966 to 1993, appeals pursuant to Supreme Court cases were heard by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and, prior to 1966, by a panel of Supreme Court judges sitting en banc. The Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal is the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia. Prior to the establishment of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice was the Chief Justice of the Appeal Division and, before 1966, of the Supreme Court.

Jurisdiction

The court derives its power from legislation of the Nova Scotia legislature, the Judicature Act. It hears appeals from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Provincial Court of Nova Scotia, and various tribunals.
Only the Supreme Court of Canada has jurisdiction to hear appeals from decisions of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal; in practice this happens a few times a year.

Judges

NameAppointedNominated ByPrior Position
Chief Justice Michael Wood2019J. TrudeauSupreme Court
Burchells LLP
Justice Duncan R. Beveridge2009HarperSupreme Court
Beveridge, MacPherson and Buckle
MacInnes, Wilson, Flinn Wickwire
Burke Beveridge
Crown attorney
Justice Cindy A. Bourgeois2014HarperSupreme Court

Hicks, LeMoyne LLP
Justice Peter M.S. Bryson2010HarperSupreme Court
McInnes Cooper
Justice Anne Derrick2017J. TrudeauProvincial Court
Beaton Derrick
Justice David P.S. Farrar2010HarperSupreme Court
Stewart McKelvey Sterling Scales LLP
Mockler Allen Dixon
Justice Elizabeth Van den Eynden2015HarperSupreme Court
MacIntosh, MacDonnell & MacDonald
Justice Carole Beaton2019J. TrudeauSupreme Court

Supernumerary

NameAppointedNominated ByPrior Position
Justice M. Jill Hamilton October 31, 2001ChretienSupreme Court
Justice Linda L. OlandChretienMcInnes Cooper
Supreme court
Justice Jamie W. S. Saunders2000ChretienSupreme Court
Justice Joel E. FichaudChretienPatterson Palmer
Justice J. Edward ScanlanHarper-

Past judges

NameDurationNominated ByPrior Position
Chief Justice Constance Glube
Justice Gerald Freeman
Justice Thomas Cromwell
Justice Nancy J. Bateman
Justice Edward John Flinn
Justice Ronald Newton Pugsley
Justice Elizabeth Ann Roscoe
Justice J. Doane Hallett
Justice David Ritchie Chipman
Justice Kenneth McNeill Matthews
Justice Lorne Otis Clarke
Justice Vincent A.J. Morrison
Justice Leonard Lawson Pace

Chief Justice of Nova Scotia

The Chief Justice of Nova Scotia is the highest position in the Nova Scotia judiciary. Since the creation of the Court of Appeal, this title is held by the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal. Prior to that the title was held by the Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court Appeal Division or the Supreme Court. For completeness the list includes Chief Justices of Cape Breton Island, which merged with Nova Scotia in 1820.
;Chief Justices of Cape Breton Island
;Chief Justices of Nova Scotia
;Chief Justices of the Court of Appeal