The Federal Court of Canada is a superior court of record with civil and criminal jurisdiction. The Court was created in 1971 as successor to the Exchequer Court of Canada which was established in 1875. Both courts were established under the authority of Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867, as courts of law, equity and admiralty for the "better administration of the laws of Canada."
The Federal Court of Canada is a bilingual court offering services in both English and French and is bi-jural, administering the two legal systems - common law and civil law. It is also itinerant, in the sense that it sits and transacts business at any place in Canada, to suit, as nearly as may be, the convenience of the parties. It is the objective of the Court to secure the just, most expeditious and least expensive determination of every proceeding on its merits.
The court is the only court in Canada with jurisdiction over certain specialized areas, eg, maritime law, patent and copyright law, although in some specialized areas it shares concurrent jurisdiction with provincial superior courts.
The court is divided into the Federal Court of Appeal and the Federal Court, Trial Division. The Trial Division hears lawsuits and initial applications to review some types of governmental actions; the Court of Appeal hears appeals from the Trial Division and supervises the formal decisions of government tribunals. Decisions of the Court of Appeal can be appealed, with leave, to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Federal Court's main office is in Ottawa, but it sits throughout the country. The number of judges was expanded in 1983 from 14 to 21 and had reached 25 by 1987.
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