The Nature of an Appeal and Statutory Jurisdiction

• Author: Mark C. Halfyard/Michael Dineen/Jonathan Dawe
• Pages: 1-21

1

The Nature of

an Appeal and

Statutory

Jurisdiction

1

I. The Nature of a Criminal Appeal ............................. 2

A. Rights of Appeal Must Be Provided by Statute ............ 2

B. The Policy Against Interlocutory Appeals

in Criminal Cases ................................... 4

C. Appeals Are Against Orders, Not Reasons ............... 5

II. Statutory Rights of Appeal .................................. 7

A. Indictable Appeals ................................... 7

B. Summary Conviction Appeals ......................... 12

C. Supreme Court of Canada Appeals ..................... 14

III. Third-Party Appeal Rights .................................. 17

A. Direct Appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada ........... 18

B. Statutory Privilege Appeals Under the

Canada Evidence Act ................................. 19

C. Third-Party Appeal Rights Initiated by Applications

for Extraordinary Remedies ............................ 19

2 Criminal Appeals: A Practitioner’s Handbook

I. The Nature of a Criminal Appeal

A. Rights of Appeal Must Be Provided by Statute

The general principle in Canadian law—both criminal and civil—is that rights of appeal

by statute

in :1

Appeals are solely creatures of statute; see 

There is no inherent jurisdiction in any appeal court. Nowadays, however, this basic

proposition tends at times to be forgotten. Appeals to appellate courts and to the Supreme

Court of Canada have become so established and routine that there is a widespread ex-



But it remains true that there is no right of appeal on any matter unless provided for by

the relevant legislature.2

A further restriction in criminal cases is that only the federal Parliament has con-

stitutional authority to create rights of appeal in matters with an “exclusively criminal”

character.3 In Knox Contracting Ltd v Canada,4

point) explained:

Provincial law of procedure is inapplicable only in respect of proceedings that are exclu-

Constitution Act, 1867, Parlia-

ment is given exclusive legislative power over criminal law and procedure. Matters arising

out of a statute enacted exclusively under the criminal law power must be dealt with under

federal laws, including laws of procedure.5

Accordingly, in a “true criminal matter”—for example, a prosecution for a Criminal

Code6federal legislation, which in prac-

tical terms means the Criminal Code and the Supreme Court Act.7

The situation is potentially more complicated and unsettled in cases involving fed-

exclusively criminal” because they are created by legislation

1 , [1993] 2 SCR 53, 81 CCC (3d) 286.

2 Ibid 

3 That is, matters that fall within federal legislative jurisdiction solely 

of the Constitution Act, 1867  



including the Procedure in Criminal Matters.”

4 Knox Contracting Ltd v Canada, [1990] 2 SCR 338, 58 CCC (3d) 65.

5 Ibid at 362 (SCR), 72 (CCC). See also  , [1945] SCR 526, 84 CCC 1; Poje v

Attorney General for British Columbia, [1953] 1 SCR 516, 105 CCC 311;  , [1989]

1 SCR 1764, 49 CCC (3d) 453.

6 Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46.

7 Supreme Court Act, RSC 1985, c S-26.