Appeals

AuthorJulien D. Payne - Marilyn A. Payne
Pages595-606
595
CHAPTER 15
APPEALS
A. DEFINITION OF “APPELLATE COURT”
Section () of the Divorce Act provides that “appellate court,” in respect of an appeal from
a court, means the cour t exercising appellate jurisdict ion with respect to that appeal. i s
def‌inition is relevant to the operation of sections  and () of the Act. An exami nation
of the aforementioned provisions ind icates that t he determin ation of the appropriate ap-
pellate court and the procedure applicable on appeals has be en delegated to the provinces.
Although section  of the Co nstituti on Act,  bind s both the Parliament of Canada and
the provincial legislat ures and prec ludes any appellate jurisdic tion in divorce proceedin gs
being exercised by tribunal s other than those presided over by federally appointed judges,
some f‌lexibility exis ts for the provinces to select the appropriate appellate court in exercis-
ing their legislative jurisdiction over the administration of justice. e composition of the
appellate court could also va ry according to whether the appeal is in respect of an interim
order or a permanent order for corollar y relief.
B. GENER AL OBSERVATIONS
Section () of the Divorce Act confers a general right to appeal from any judgment or order,
whether f‌inal or interim, made pursuant to t he Act. Sections (), (), and (), however, im-
pose restrictions on the right of appeal, wh ich vary according to whether the appeal relates
to the judgment qua marital status or to interim or f‌inal corollar y orders. A non-party is
not entitled to appea l.
As to the provinci al power of a trial judge to reser ve or refer matters to an appellate cour t, see Arnold v.
Arnold (–),  N.S.R.  (C.A.); Iantsis v. Papatheo dorou (),  R.F.L.  (Ont. C.A.).

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