Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
Encyclopedia
Legal citation
Legal citation is the practice of crediting and referring to authoritative documents and sources. The most common sources of authority cited are court decisions , statutes, regulations, government documents, treaties, and scholarly writing....
as ABQB or Alta. Q.B.) is the superior court
Superior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
of the Canadian province of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
The original Building has since been demolished and the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta in Calgary has been relocated to the Calgary Courts Centre
Calgary Courts Centre
Calgary Courts Centre is an institutional tower in downtown Calgary, Alberta. It was constructed by the Government of Alberta and provides over 1 million square feet of court and office space.-History:...
History
The Court originates from the old Supreme Court of the Northwest TerritoriesSupreme Court of the Northwest Territories
The Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories is the name of two different superior courts for the Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories, which have existed at different times.The first Supreme Court of the North-West Territories was created in 1885...
. Two years after Alberta became a province in 1905, the Court was reorganized as the Supreme Court of Alberta and several lower District Courts possessing a more limited jurisdiction. In 1921, the Supreme Court was reorganized to have an independent trial division (Supreme Court of Alberta Trial Division), and an independent appellate division (Supreme Court of Alberta Appellate Division), the precursor to the Court of Appeal of Alberta
Court of Appeal of Alberta
The Court of Appeal of Alberta is an Canadian appellate court.-Jurisdiction and Hierarchy within Canadian Courts:The Court is the highest court in Alberta, Canada...
. It was not until June 30, 1979 that the Supreme Court Trial Division received its current name as the "Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta".
The District Courts created in 1907 were amalgamated into the District Court of Northern Alberta and the District Court of Southern Alberta in 1935, merging altogether into the District Court of Alberta in 1975. In 1979, it merged for the last time, this time back with the Supreme Court, into the Court of Queen's Bench.
Structure
The Court consists of a Chief JusticeChief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Court, an Associate Chief Justice, and several judges including those judges who have elected supernumerary
Supernumerary
A Supernumerary is an additional member of an organization. A supernumerary is also a non-regular member of a staff, a member of the staff or an employee who works in a public office who is not part of the manpower complement...
status after many years of service and after having attained eligibility for retirement (typically at age 65).
A justice of the Court of Appeal of Alberta is an ex officio justice of the Court of Queen's Bench and may sit on that Court. Likewise, a justice of the Court of Queen's Bench may sit on a panel of the Court of Appeal, by invitation of the Chief Justice of Alberta. It is important not to confuse the Chief Justice of Alberta and the Chief Justice of the Court of the Queen's Bench. The former is the chief justice of the province and sits on the Court of Appeal, while the latter is the chief justice of a court and sits on the Court of Queen's Bench.
The province is divided into 11 districts with court sitting in 13 different locations (some districts have a primary and a secondary locations). In 2010 the locations were:
- Calgary
- Drumheller
- Edmonton
- Fort McMurray
- Grande Prairie
- High Level
- Hinton
- Lethbridge
- Medicine Hat
- Peace River
- Red Deer
- St. Paul
- Wetaskiwin
Jurisdiction
As a superior court, it has inherent jurisdictionInherent jurisdiction
Inherent jurisdiction is a doctrine of the English common law that a superior court has the jurisdiction to hear any matter that comes before it, unless a statute or rule limits that authority or grants exclusive jurisdiction to some other court or tribunal...
and therefore, may hear matters despite absence of specific statutory delegation. Thus, it operates as a civil and criminal trial court, hears surrogate
Surrogate Court
A probate court is a specialized court that deals with matters of probate and the administration of estates....
matters, as well as certain appeals from the Provincial Court of Alberta
Provincial Court of Alberta
The Provincial Court of Alberta is a Provincial Court for the Canadian province of Alberta. The court oversees matters relating to criminal law, family law, youth law, civil law and traffic laws....
.
Appeals from the Court lay with the Court of Appeal. Civil procedure before the Court are set out in the Alberta Rules of Court
Alberta Rules of Court
The Alberta Rules of Court are the civil practice and procedural rules governing court proceedings in the Canadian province of Alberta, and specifically, in the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench and Alberta Court of Appeal....
.
Appointments
Although provincial superior courts are administered by the provinces, they are considered to be section 96 courts (from section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867Constitution Act, 1867
The Constitution Act, 1867 , is a major part of Canada's Constitution. The Act created a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system...
). Therefore, appointments to the Court are within federal jurisdiction and made by cabinet
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
.
Styling
The Court of Queen's Bench Act sets out the styling convention of the Court in section 2(2). During the reign of a Queen, it is known as the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. Should the monarchyMonarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
be vested in a King, it will be known as the Court of King's Bench of Alberta.
Current Judges (including district)
- Justice N.C. Wittmann - Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta - Calgary http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2009/10/23/edmonton-new-chief-justice-alberta.htmlhttp://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&id=2906http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&id=2906http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/02/08/insurance-ruling.htmlhttp://www.cba.org/Alberta/PDF/NewsletterNov1999.pdfhttp://www.edmontonsun.com/news/alberta/2009/10/23/11508641.htmlhttp://prejury.law.ualberta.ca/alri/About-ALRI/Staff--Board-Profiles/Mr.-Justice-Neil-C.-Wittmann.php
- Justice J.D. Rooke - Associate Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta - Edmonton
- Madam Justice J.B. Veit* - Edmonton
- Justice E.P. MacCallum* - Edmonton
- Justice E.A. Marshall* - Edmonton
- Justice A.T. Murray* - Edmonton
- Justice D.W. Perras* - Edmonton
- Justice R.M. Cairns* - Calgary
- Justice J.L. FosterJames L. FosterJames "Jim" L. Foster was a provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1971 to 1979 sitting with the governing Progressive Conservative caucus...
- Red Deer - Madam Justice L.J. Smith - Edmonton
- Justice W.V. Hembroff - Lethbridge
- Justice T.F. McMahon - Calgary
- Justice J.S. Moore* - Calgary
- Justice J.L. Lewis* - Edmonton
- Madam Justice S.M. Bensler -Calgary
- Justice L.D. Wilkins* - Calgary
- Justice D. Lee - Edmonton
- Madam Justice C.A. Kent - Calgary
- Justice J.K. Langston - Lethbridge
- Justice P.J. McIntyre - Calgary
- Madam Justice C.S. Phillips - Calgary
- Madam Justice M.T. Moreau - Edmonton
- Justice S.J. LoVecchio - Calgary
- Justice W.P. Sullivan - Calgary
- Madam Justice C.L. Kenny - Calgary
- Justice R.P. Marceau - Edmonton
- Justice R.P. Belzil - Edmonton
- Justice M.A. Binder - Edmonton
- Justice G.C. Hawco - Calgary
- Justice C.S. Brooker - Calgary
- Justice S.M. Sanderman - Edmonton
- Madam Justice B.E.C. Romaine - Calgary
- Madam Justice D.A. Sulyma - Edmonton
- Madam Justice R.E. Nation - Calgary
- Justice B.R. Burrows - Edmonton
- Justice P.W.L. Martin - Calgary
- Justice A.G. Park - Calgary
- Justice G.A. Verville - Edmonton
- Madam Justice L.D. Acton - Edmonton
- Justice T.D. Clackson - Edmonton
- Madam Justice A.B. Moen - Edmonton
- Justice B.E. Mahoney - Calgary
- Madam Justice S.J. Greckol - Edmonton
- Madam Justice E.A. Hughes - Calgary
- Madam Justice M.C. Erb - Calgary
- Justice E.F. Macklin - Edmonton
- Justice V.O. Ouelette - Edmonton
- Madam Justice D.C. Read - Edmonton
- Madam Justice K.M. Horner - Calgary
- Justice Stephen D. Hillier - Edmonton
- Madam Justice Juliana E. Topolniski - Edmonton
- Justice A.W. GermainAdam GermainAdam Germain is a former provincial level politician, lawyer and current Court of Queen's Bench Justice from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 to 1997.-Political career:...
- Edmonton - Madam Justice J.M. Ross
- Justice Dennis Thomas - Edmonton
- Madam Justice Sheilah L. Martin - Calgary
- Justice Allan MacLeod - Calgary
- Justice K. L. Sisson - Red Deer
- Justice R.A. Graesser - Edmonton
- Justice D.L. Shelley - Edmonton
- Justice D.K. Miller - Lethbridge
- Justice K. M. Eidsvik - Calgary
- Justice K. G. Nielsen - Edmonton
- Justice M.G. Crighton - Edmonton
- Justice E.C. Wilson - Calgary
- Justice J. Strekaf - Calgary
- Justice D.J. Manderscheid - Edmonton
- Justice K.D. Yamauchi - Edmonton
- Justice S.L. Hunt McDonald - Calgary
- Justice R.G. StevensRon StevensRon Stevens, Q.C. is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the current Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Calgary-Glenmore as a Progressive Conservative until his resignation on May 15, 2009...
- Calgary - Justice Monica R. Bast - Red Deer
- Justice Beverley A. Browne - Edmonton
- Justice W.A. Tilleman - Calgary
- *indicates supernumerary judge
Former Chief Justices of the Court
- Allan H.J. WachowichAllan Wachowich (justice)Colonel, The Honourable Allan H.J. Wachowich B.A., LL.B. is the former Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.-Early life:Born Allan Harvey Joseph Wachowich to Polish parents Philip and Nancy...
- W. Kenneth Moore
- William R. HowsonWilliam R. HowsonWilliam Robinson Howson was an politician, judge, debt collector, soldier banker and real estate agent from Alberta, Canada.. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1930 to 1936 sitting with the Liberal caucus in opposition...