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The Court of Appeal for Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia Court of Appeal or NSCA) is the highest appeal court in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. There are currently seven Justices and one Chief Justice. The court sits in Halifax, which is the capital of Nova Scotia. Cases are heard by a panel of three judges and over the year they rule on roughly 250 cases.
Contents
The Court of Appeal was established on 30 January 1993. Prior to 1966 appeals pursuant to Supreme Court cases were heard by a panel of Supreme Court judges sitting en banc and from 1966 to 1993 by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. 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 (1966–1993) 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.
Past judges
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 (1966–1993) or the Supreme Court (before 1966). For completeness the list includes Chief Justices of Cape Breton Island, which merged with Nova Scotia in 1820.