The Alberta Court of Justice (formerly the Provincial Court of Alberta [1] ) is the provincial court for the Canadian province of Alberta. The Court oversees matters relating to criminal law, family law, youth law, civil law and traffic law. More than 170,000 matters come before the Court every year.
Although Alberta’s provincial court system has been in operation for more than a century, originally known as the Provincial court of Alberta, it established in 1978 by the Provincial Court Act. In August 2023, it was officially renamed the Alberta Court of Justice. This legislation combined the previous Magistrates Court, the Juvenile Court, the Small Claims Court, and the Family Court into one institution. The court is led by the Chief Justice of the Alberta Court of Justice, who is appointed by the provincial government to serve a seven-year term. There are more than 130 full-time Justices in the Alberta Court of Justice, [2] working out of more than 70 locations [3] across the province. The Alberta Court of Justice is an inferior court of first instance in Alberta, which means decisions from the Court of Justice may be appealed at the Court of King's Bench of Alberta and/or the Court of Appeal of Alberta. The Alberta Court of Justice hears the majority of criminal and civil cases in Alberta. All of Alberta’s criminal cases start in the Court of Justice, and 95 percent conclude there. Many traffic, regulatory and bylaw enforcement hearings take place at the Alberta Court of Justice. Most civil cases also take place in the Court of Justice, including cases involving landlord and tenant and claims involving less than $100,000. A majority of family law cases and child protection cases are also heard by the Court of Justice. [4]
The Alberta Court of Justice's traffic division deals with offences pursuant to many provincial statutes and regulations, municipal bylaws and a few specified federal statutes. In spite of its name, Traffic Court is not limited to only hearing traffic-related offences. Trials in Traffic Court, whether involving an adult or a young person, are usually heard by a Justice of the Peace. However, in some situations or locations trials are heard by a Justice of the Court of Justice.
Justices in the Alberta Court of Justice's family division hear applications for child and spousal support, parenting arrangements, private guardianship and all child protection cases. The Alberta Court of Justice does not have jurisdiction to decide divorce applications or claims with respect to property rights arising from a breakdown of a relationship, and these matters consequently go to the Court of King’s Bench.
The Civil Division of the Alberta Court of Justice provides a means to resolve private disputes, including landlord and tenant matters. The maximum amount that may be claimed in the Alberta Court of Justice's civil division is $100,000. If the claims exceed $100,000 or involve matters that cannot be heard in the Court of Justice, the claim must be filed in the Court of King’s Bench.
All criminal court appearances start in the Alberta Court of Justice. The Court of Justice Criminal Division handles first appearances, entry of pleas, bail hearings, preliminary inquiries, trials and sentencing of all prosecutions where the Crown proceeded by summary conviction and the majority of those where the proceedings were by indictment.
The Courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction, which is restricted to civil cases involving monetary amounts with a specific limit, or criminal cases involving offenses of a less serious nature. A superior court may hear appeals from lower courts. For courts of general jurisdiction in civil law system, see ordinary court.
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may be known as a county or magistrate's court. These courts can be found in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England and Wales, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Greece, New Zealand, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Nigeria and the United States.
Judiciary of Malaysia is largely centralised despite Malaysia's federal constitution, heavily influenced by the English common law, as well as Islamic jurisprudence.
The court system of Canada is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. In the courts, the judiciary interpret and apply the law of Canada. Some of the courts are federal in nature, while others are provincial or territorial.
The Superior Court of Justice is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges.
The courts of Scotland are responsible for administration of justice in Scotland, under statutory, common law and equitable provisions within Scots law. The courts are presided over by the judiciary of Scotland, who are the various judicial office holders responsible for issuing judgments, ensuring fair trials, and deciding on sentencing. The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, subject to appeals to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and the High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court, which is only subject to the authority of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on devolution issues and human rights compatibility issues.
The High Court of Ireland is a court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases. When sitting as a criminal court it is called the Central Criminal Court and sits with judge and jury. It also acts as a court of appeal for civil cases in the Circuit Court. It also has the power to determine whether or not a law is constitutional, and of judicial review over acts of the government and other public bodies.
In England and Wales, a magistrates' court is a lower court which hears matters relating to summary offences and some triable either-way matters. Some civil law issues are also decided here, notably family proceedings. In 2010, there were 320 magistrates' courts in England and Wales; by 2020, a decade later, 164 of those had closed. The jurisdiction of magistrates' courts and rules governing them are set out in the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.
The Provincial Court of British Columbia is a trial level court in British Columbia that hears cases in criminal, civil and family matters.
A master is a judge of limited jurisdiction in the superior courts of England and Wales and in numerous other jurisdictions based on the common law tradition. A master's jurisdiction is generally confined to civil proceedings and is a subset of that of a superior court judge or justice. Masters are typically involved in hearing specialized types of trials, case management, and in some jurisdictions dispute resolution or adjudication of specific issues referred by judges.
The Provincial Court of Saskatchewan is the provincial court of record for the province of Saskatchewan. It hears matters relating to criminal law, youth law, civil law, family law, traffic law and municipal bylaws.
In Washington, there are several state courts. Judges are elected and serve four-year or six-year terms. Most judges first come to office when the governor of Washington appoints them after a vacancy is created – either by the death, resignation, retirement, or removal of a sitting judge, or when a new seat on the bench is created by the Washington State Legislature.
The Judiciary of Vermont is the state court system of Vermont, charged with Vermont law.
The courts of South Africa are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in South Africa. They apply the law of South Africa and are established under the Constitution of South Africa or under Acts of the Parliament of South Africa.
In the Nevada state court system, the Nevada District Courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction, where criminal, civil, family, and juvenile matters are generally resolved through arbitration, mediation, and bench or jury trials.
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC for legal citation purposes.
The Law Courts building is the main courthouse in the city of Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, Canada. It hosts hearings of the Provincial Court of Alberta, the Court of King's Bench of Alberta, and the Court of Appeal of Alberta. The courthouse is located at 1A Sir Winston Churchill Square, in downtown Edmonton. The building was designed by the firm Bell, McCulloch, Spotowski and Associates.
The Judiciary of the Netherlands is the system of courts which interprets and applies the law in the Netherlands.
The King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts.
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