The Hierarchy of Courts

 One aspect of the legal system that can be mysterious to clients is the hierarchy of the court system.  If the Court of King's Bench issues a decision and one side wants to appeal the decision, who do they appeal it to? 

This chart shows a good summary of the major courts and how they rank:

 

 

The Supreme Court of Canada is the top court in the country. The laws they create or their interpretation of written legislation is binding on all lower courts. They can also decide that legislation written and enacted by our governments is unconstitutional and strike it or give a deadline as to when it needs to be changed.

Each province also has a Court of Appeal. In Manitoba, our Court of Appeal in Winnipeg is the top court. We must follow the laws they create or their interpretation of laws, and the courts in our province must also follow them.

Below the Courts of Appeal are the provincial courts. They sometimes have different names in other provinces (such as Superior Court) but in Manitoba the courts below are the Court of King's Bench and the Provincial Court. The Provincial Court handles mostly criminal law as well as some child protection matters. The Court of King's Bench handles the more serious criminal law cases as well as family law and civil litigation. 

Below the Court of King's Bench are Small Claims Court and Administrative Tribunals, such as the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, the Manitoba Labour Board or the Manitoba Securities Commission.