KING/QUEEN AND COUNCIL

In all English colonies, the ultimate appeal was to the monarch and Privy Council. Quebec and Lower Canada followed this rule, and appeals could be made to the King or Queen and Council throughout the period covered by this guide.

Establishment and Jurisdiction

In civil matters, by the 1764 ordinance setting up the courts, judgements of the Governor and Council in cases involving sums over £St500 could be appealed to the King and Council. This was reiterated for the interim Court of Appeals in 1776,⁽⁹⁸⁾ and again for the Court of Appeals in 1777. In the judicial reorganization of 1794, judgements of the Provincial Court of Appeals in cases involving sums over £St500, or affecting future rights, could be appealed to the King and Council. This was reiterated in the judicial reorganization of 1844 for the Court of Appeals for Lower Canada, and in the judicial reorganization of 1849 for the Court of Queen's Bench, Appeal Side.

In criminal matters, from 1768, fines over £St100 imposed for misdemeanours could be appealed to the King and Council. Initially, this provision was included only in the instructions to the various governors, and may not thus have been in force in the colony.⁽⁹⁹⁾ It was mentioned in the commission establishing the interim Court of Appeals in 1776 (presumably referring to the Courts of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery),⁽¹⁰⁰⁾ but only became a permanent part of the colonial legislation in 1787. While this provision did not specify any particular court, in practice the only courts that imposed such fines were the Court(s) of King's/Queen's Bench, the Courts of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery, and (in the District of Gaspé after 1849) the Superior Court.⁽¹⁰¹⁾

Legislation

4 George III September 17, 1764 (in force 1764-1775)
Allowing appeal from the Governor and Council to the King and Council in certain civil cases.

17 George III c.1 (1777) (in force 1777-1794)
Allowing appeal from the Court of Appeals to the King and Council in certain civil cases.

27 George III c.1 (1787) (in force 1787-)
Allowing appeal to the King and Council in certain criminal cases.

34 George III c.6 (1794) (in force 1794-1844)
Allowing appeal from the Provincial Court of Appeals to the King and Council in certain civil cases.

7 Victoria c.18 (1843) (in force 1844-1849)
Allowing appeal from the Court of Appeals for Lower Canada to the Queen and Council in certain civil cases.

12 Victoria c.37 (1849) (in force 1849-)
Allowing appeal from the Court of Queen's Bench, Appeal Side, to the Queen and Council in certain civil cases.

Page content last updated 2008-05-30