Federal Court (Canada)

The Federal Court is a Canadian trial court that hears cases arising under certain areas of federal law. The Federal Court is a superior court with nationwide jurisdiction. The court was created on July 2, 2003 by the when it and the Federal Court of Appeal were split from their predecessor, the Federal Court of Canada.

On October 24, 2008, the Federal Court was given its own Armorial bearings by the Governor General, the third court in Canada to be given its own Coat of Arms - after the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Structure

The Federal Court consists of a Chief Justice and thirty-two other judges. Currently, there are 28 full-time judges (leaving five vacancies in the Court), along with three supernumerary judges, three deputy judges, and six prothonotaries.

Law Clerks are hired for one-year terms to help the judges research and prepare decisions. They are generally assigned to a particular judge.

The salary of judges are determined annually by the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission. Chief Justice receives $254,600 while other judges receives $232,300 annually.Section 10 of the Judges Act

Jurisdiction

The Federal Court cannot hear any case unless a federal statute confers jurisdiction on the Court to hear cases of that type.

Some examples of the sort of cases heard by the Federal Court are:

• judicial review of immigration decisions,
• intellectual property disputes,
• ......
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