This is just one of the stats detailed in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal Annual Report for 2023. Released on April 2, this is the court’s second update of its kind.
Of the 78 appeal hearings held in 2023, “26 parties had no lawyer and represented themselves in court.” Nineteen were appellants and seven were respondents. This is a slight increase over 2022: of the 79 hearings heard, 19 parties were self-represented.
The year 2023 saw the Appeal Court livestream four cases — two criminal and two civil.
“Live webcasts of court proceedings are a proven way to help educate the public about the legal system,” states the report. “The practice enables judges to reach audiences beyond the people physically in the courtroom. Webcasting also increases transparency and can help boost people’s confidence in the judiciary and the Courts.”
In total, there were 137 appeals filed.
“Looking at the previous five years, the total number of criminal appeals filed per year remains consistent. Although the number of civil appeals filed increased slightly in 2023, these totals are still generally on a downward trend when compared to 2014 and prior.”
For both criminal and civil appeals, it notes that the time it takes from filing an appeal to when a judgement is rendered “remains consistent with previous years.”
Chief Justice Michael Wood
“One year ago, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal released its first Annual Report for the calendar year 2022,” states Chief Justice Wood. “Since then, we have been encouraged by the positive comments and feedback we received in support of our commitment to increased public accountability with respect to our work.”
He noted the impacts felt from an increase in hearings versus a reduction in judges.
“In 2023, we saw an increase in civil appeals as well as motions heard in chambers. The number of sitting days per judge is at the highest level since 2019. This is due to the increase of hearings and a reduction in our judicial complement through retirements. Despite the increase in workload, the Court has been successful in maintaining its high standard for timely hearings and release of judgments.”
He also spoke of the court’s plan to sit outside its home base of Halifax, having scheduled a future appearance almost 400 kilometres away in the Cape Breton city of Sydney.
He also noted judges who “continue to perform important work in addition to their responsibilities for hearing and deciding appeals.”
Case in point: The report has a firsthand account by Justice Edward “Ted” Scanlon on what it’s like volunteering to travel to the northern territory of Nunavut as a deputy judge — something he has been doing since 2002.
Justice Scanlan describes travelling to Nunavut with a court party of as many as 14. This, he says, can pose challenges for those not accustomed to the territory’s harsh and austere environment.
“As you can imagine, travel to [Nunavut’s] remote communities can be harsh — the distance, climate and accommodations take a toll on everyone,” he writes. “The Court relies on planes of various sizes flying into remote areas with small airports. Visitors can expect anything from a modern jet to a 10- or 12-seat chartered, propeller-driven plane to shuttle them from one community to the next.”
Judges who do this serve on a volunteer basis and must find time outside their regular court duties to travel to the territory. Due to the nature of the territory, it is common for challenges to be thrown in front of court participants.
Justice Scanlan describes once holding court inside a community hall, in a hamlet outside the capital of Iqaluit. The heating in the building suddenly failed, and with the temperature outside sitting at around -40 C, something had to be done to save the proceedings — not to mention participants’ fingers and toes.
“Within an hour, staff had moved all the hamlet’s snow removal equipment out of the storage shed, tables were set up and court resumed with allowances for participants to wear their coats, hats and gloves. It was an unconventional scene, to say the least,” said Justice Scanlan.
He also spoke of circumstances in which inhabitants’ everyday workings of survival sometimes impacted proceedings. It was not uncommon for the number of court participants to be unusually low due to their need to hunt.
“They had a valid excuse — they needed to harvest the whale meat before it was lost to polar bears. On another occasion, only a few people showed up because a caribou herd was spotted nearby — hunting took precedence because it meant survival.”
Finally, Justice Scanlan answers the question of why he continues to return to Nunavut.
“My answer is always the same — the people. Never have I seen such hardworking, generous members of society. These people toil under such difficult circumstances.”
Still, the struggle to meet the challenges is tempered with a sense of community.
“When these people get together, it is truly a joy to listen as they laugh and share their stories. So long as I am able, I will continue to travel north to experience this part of our great country that most Canadians will never have the chance to see. I will not take that privilege for granted.”
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