The Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba (in French: Cour du Banc de la Reine du Manitoba) is the superior court of the Canadian province of Manitoba. The court is divided into the Family Division and the General Division.
Contents
The Family Division deals with family law cases including divorces, guardianships, adoptions and child welfare.
The General Division deals with all other matters, including civil trials, probate law, indictable offences and applications for the review of decisions from certain administrative tribunals.
History of the Court
In May 1871 the legislature of Manitoba enacted The Supreme Court Act to establish a superior court with original and appellate jurisdiction in the province. The law provided:
There shall be constituted a Court of Justice for the Province of Manitoba, to be styled "The Supreme
Court," which shall have jurisdiction over ail matters of Law and Equity, ail matters of wills and intestacy, and shall possess such powers and authorities in relation to matters of Local or Provincial jurisdiction,
The Act also established inferior courts known as Petty Sessions.
In 1872, The Supreme Court Act was amended by the Manitoba legislature to change the name of the court to "The Court of Queen's Bench". The first Chief Justice was appointed in July 1872. In the same year, the Petty Sessions were abolished and County Courts were established.
The appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Queen's Bench was transferred to the Manitoba Court of Appeal, which was established in 1906. In 1984, the County Courts were merged with the Court of Queen's Bench, and the judges of the County Courts became Court of Queen's Bench judges. Further, in 1984 the Family Division of the Court of Queen’s Bench was established.
Current Justices
Under the federal Judges Act, federally appointed judges (such as those on the Manitoba Court of Appeal) may, after being in judicial office for at least 15 years and whose combined age and number of years of judicial service is not less than 80 or after the age of 70 years and at least 10 years judicial service, elect to give up their regular judicial duties and hold office as a supernumerary judge.
The following justices have elected supernumerary status: