COURTS OF WEEKLY SESSIONS OF THE PEACE

Unlike the Courts of Quarter Sessions of the Peace, the Courts of Weekly Sessions of the Peace had no direct precedent in the English court system. However, since their jurisdiction was largely based on the powers of the Justices of the Peace who held them, English law, especially statute law, was of fundamental importance in defining the functioning of these Courts.

Establishment and Jurisdiction

Courts of Weekly Sessions of the Peace were established at Quebec City and Montreal by the 1764 ordinance setting up the courts. The Courts were abolished with the rest of the existing court system as of May 1, 1775 by the Quebec Act. Like the Courts of Quarter Sessions of the Peace, they remained in abeyance during the administrative confusion following the American invasion, but were re-established soon after Governor Carleton issued a new Commission of the Peace in August 1776.⁽⁵³⁾ When the regular court system was restored in 1777, the Courts were explicitly re-established in Quebec City and Montreal. In the judicial reorganization of 1794, an additional Court was added at Trois-Rivières. While they were never formally altered or abolished in the period thereafter covered by this guide, and remained in operation throughout, the growing number of prosecutions for minor crimes was such that the weekly sittings of the Courts in Quebec City and Montreal at least were increasingly supplemented by other courts with similar jurisdiction (initially, the Courts of Special Sessions of the Peace, and later, the Police Courts and Recorders' Courts), and from the late 1830s much of the jurisdiction of the Courts was exercised by these other courts.

The general criminal jurisdiction of the Courts was only vaguely defined in the colonial legislation. As established in 1764, the Courts had jurisdiction over the "regulation of the police and other matters and things"; this was reiterated in 1777 and 1794, adding "other matters and things belonging to their [the Justices of the Peace] office." In theory, the Courts were thus no more than regularized petty sessions, with the same jurisdiction as that of the two Justices of the Peace who held them. But as with the other courts held by the Justices of the Peace, colonial legislation specifically extended the jurisdiction of the Courts to a number of other, usually newly defined offences. In practice, their jurisdiction thus extended to a wide range of minor misdemeanours, from infractions of police, fire, and market regulations, to offences against export regulations.⁽⁵⁴⁾

The Courts had no general civil jurisdiction, although since they were held by two Justices of the Peace, between 1764 and 1770 they had the same civil jurisdiction as these latter, extending to matters not over £10. In 1841, the jurisdiction of the Court at Montreal was extended to civil suits of the city for the recovery of money owed it for taxes, rents, etc. However, in 1845 this jurisdiction was assumed instead by the Mayor's Court of the city.

Composition and Sessions

The Courts were held by any two Justices of the Peace of the city within which they were held. They held weekly sessions. From 1851, the Courts could also implicitly be held by the Inspectors and Superintendents of Police (who at that date were given the same power as any two Justices of the Peace).⁽⁵⁵⁾

Revision

Judgements of the Courts in cases involving certain offences could be appealed to the Courts of Quarter Sessions of the Peace, as allowed by the colonial legislation that defined those offences. As well, as the Courts also had the same jurisdiction as the two Justices of the Peace who held them, they were presumably subject to the same appeal provisions.⁽⁵⁶⁾

Legislation

4 George III September 17, 1764 (in force with amendments 1764-1775)
Establishing the Courts at Quebec City and Montreal.

Imperial Statute 14 George III c.83 (1774) (Quebec Act)
Abolishing the Courts as of May 1, 1775.

17 George III c.5 (1777) (in force 1777-1794)
Re-establishing the Courts at Quebec City and at Montreal.

34 George III c.6 (1794) (in force with amendments 1794-)
Abolishing the existing Courts, and establishing the Courts at Quebec City, Montreal, and Trois-Rivières.

4 Victoria c.32 (1841) (in force 1841-1845)
Extending the jurisdiction of the Court of Montreal to civil suits of the city for the recovery of money owed it for taxes, rents, etc.

Page content last updated 2004-02-18