First

Session, 48th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2016

BILL 39

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

JUDICATURE ACT

Received and Read the First Time .................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ..........................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

ANDREW PARSONS

Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney

General

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Judicature Act to

increase the judicial complement

of the Trial Division;

create a position of associate

chief justice; and

clarify a provision respecting

judicial areas and expanded service areas and the manner in which those areas

may be designated and modified.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE JUDICATURE ACT

Analysis

S.21 Amdt.

Trial Division

S.43.5 R&S

Judicial area

S.46 Amdt.

Oaths

S.47.1 R&S

Additional judge

S.48 Amdt.

Precedence of judges

6. S.49 R&S

Powers of the chief justices

Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cJ-4

as amended

1. (1) Subsection 21(1) of the Judicature Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Trial Division

(1) The

Trial Division consists of

(

a) a chief justice, who shall be called the Chief

Justice of the Trial Division;

(

b) an associate chief justice, who shall be

called the Associate Chief Justice of the Trial Division; and

(c) 22 other judges.

(1.1) The Chief Justice of the Trial Division, the

Associate Chief Justice of the Trial Division and the judges referred to in paragraph

(1)(

c) shall collectively be called the judges of the Trial Division.

(2) Subsection 21(4) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(4) The Chief Justice of the Trial Division and

the Associate Chief Justice of the Trial Division may hear and determine

proceedings brought in the General Division and the Family Division and for

that purpose the Chief Justice of the Trial Division and the Associate Chief

Justice of the Trial Division are judges of the General Division and the Family

Division.

Section 43.5 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Judicial area

43.5

(1) In

this Part

(a) "expanded service area" means an

area of the province in which the Family Division may exercise concurrent jurisdiction

with the Provincial Court of the province where designated as an expanded

service area under the authority of subsection (2); and

(b) "judicial area" means an area of the

province in which the Family Division shall operate its jurisdiction where designated

as a judicial area under the authority of subsection (2).

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council, after

consultation with the Chief Justice of the Trial Division, may, by regulation,

designate an area of the province as

(

a) a judicial area; or

(

b) an expanded service area

and may expand or contract either of those

areas.

(3) Regulations made under the authority of

subsection (2) may prescribe the manner in which matters may be heard as a

result of changes in the judicial area or the expanded service area, or both of

them.

(4) Where a judicial area is designated under

subsection (2), the Chief Justice of the Trial Division shall assign a

presiding judge in the designated judicial area.

(5) The Family Division may exercise its power and

duties in the expanded service area as if the area were a judicial area.

3. Subsection 46(1) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Oaths

(1) The

Chief Justice of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Chief Justice of the Trial

Division, the Associate Chief Justice of the Trial Division and every other

judge of the Court of Appeal and the Trial Division shall, before entering upon

the duties of the office of judge, take and sign the Oath of Allegiance and the

Judicial Oath referred to in the Oaths of Office Act.

Section 47.1 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Additional judge

47.1 For

the purpose of

section 32 of the Judges Act (Canada), there shall be

established, for the Office of Chief Justice of Newfoundland and Labrador, the

Office of Chief Justice of the Trial Division and the Office of the Associate

Chief Justice of the Trial Division, an additional office of judge as is from

time to time required, to be held by a Chief Justice of Newfoundland and Labrador,

a Chief Justice of the Trial Division or an Associate Chief Justice of the

Trial Division who has elected under the Judges Act (Canada) to perform

only the duties of a judge of the Court of Appeal or the Trial Division, as the

case may be.

5. Subsection 48(1) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Precedence of

judges

(1) The

judges of the Supreme Court have rank, precedence and seniority in the

following order:

(

a) the Chief Justice of Newfoundland

and Labrador ;

(

b) the Chief Justice of the Trial Division;

(

c) the Associate Chief Justice of the Trial

Division;

(

d) the judges of the Court of Appeal in the order

of their seniority of appointment to that court; and

(

e) the judges of the Trial Division in the order

of their seniority of appointment to that court.

Section 49 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Powers of the

chief justices

(1) Where there is a vacancy in the

office of, or the Chief Justice of Newfoundland

and Labrador

(

a) is absent from the province;

(

b) is unable to act; or

(

c) requests it,

his or her powers shall be exercised by

the next senior judge of the Court of Appeal who is able to act in his or her

place.

(2) Where there is a vacancy in the office of, or

the Chief Justice of the Trial Division

(

a) is absent from the province;

(

b) is unable to act; or

(

c) requests it,

his or her powers shall be exercised by

the Associate Chief Justice, or if there is a vacancy in office of the

Associate Chief Justice or he or she is absent or unable to act, by the next

senior judge of the Trial Division who is able to act in the place of the Chief

Justice of the Trial Division.

Commencement

7. This Act, or a section, subsection or paragraph

of it, comes into force on a day or days to be proclaimed by the

Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

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