The Courts Administration Service — An Overview

The Service in Brief

The role of the Service is to provide registry, judicial and corporate services to four courts of law — the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Tax Court of Canada.

These services make it easier for individuals, companies, organizations, and the Government of Canada to submit disputes and other matters to the courts. They also enable the courts to hear and resolve the cases before them fairly, expeditiously and as efficiently as possible.

The mandate of the Service is:

• to ensure the effective and efficient provision of services to the four courts;
• to enhance the judicial independence of the courts by placing them at arm’s length from the Government of Canada; and
• to enhance accountability for the use of public money.

The functions of the Service include:

• providing litigants and their counsel with services relating to court hearings;
• informing litigants about rules of practice, court directives and procedures;
• maintaining court records;
• acting as liaison between the judiciary, the legal profession and lay litigants;
• processing documents filed by or issued to litigants;
• recording all proceedings;
• serving as the entity where individuals seeking enforcement of decisions made by the courts and federal administrative tribunals, such as the Canada Industrial Relations Board and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, may file pertinent documents; and
• providing judges, prothonotaries and staff with library services, appropriate facilities and security.

• effective and efficient management and administration of all court services, including court facilities, libraries, corporate services and staffing;
• structuring registry operations and preparing budgets, in consultation with the chief justices of the four courts, for the requirements of those courts and the related needs of the Service.

Our Vision, Our Priorities

The Service’s mission is one of excellence. We work daily towards the ultimate goal of offering a single point of service, in both official languages, while enhancing the judicial independence of the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Tax Court of Canada.

The Service’s mission is to be recognized as a national and international model of excellence in the administration of justice. We also ensure that Canadians are able to have access, as quickly as possible, to an efficient, fair and precise process for dispute resolution, in both official languages, in each of the courts that we oversee.

Since the Service’s inception, our first priority has been the implementation of a dynamic and fully-integrated people management strategy which would support all employees throughout the Service’s merger. Since then, we have also implemented unique projects which support innovation and allow us to modernize business processes.

The Courts

Established in 2003 when the Courts Administration Service Act (CAS Act) came into force, the Service has the mandate to provide efficient administrative services to the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Tax Court of Canada.

The four courts served by the Service are superior courts of record. The Tax Court of Canada obtained this status when the CAS Act came into force. All of these courts were created by the Parliament of Canada pursuant to its authority under section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 to establish courts “for the better administration of the Laws of Canada.”

The Federal Court of Appeal

The Federal Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear appeals from decisions of the Federal Court and the Tax Court of Canada and certain other statutory appeals. It also has exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine applications for judicial review of decisions of 14 federal boards, commissions and tribunals listed in section 28 of the Federal Courts Act. Parties to a proceeding in the Federal Court of Appeal may be granted leave, or permission, to appeal a decision of the Federal Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada if the case involves a question of public importance. Pursuant to section 5(1) of the Federal Courts Act, the full judicial complement of the Federal Court of Appeal consists of the Chief Justice and 12 other judges. For further information on the Federal Court of Appeal, please refer to www.fca-caf.gc.ca.

The Federal Court

The Federal Court is a court of first instance. It has original, but not exclusive, jurisdiction over cases by and against the Crown (including Aboriginal law claims), proceedings involving admiralty law, intellectual property law and national security, and appeals under 110 federal statutes. The Court also has exclusive jurisdiction to hear applications for judicial review of the decisions of all federal boards, commissions and tribunals other than those over which the Federal Court of Appeal has jurisdiction (see above). This jurisdiction includes, in particular, applications for judicial review of decisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board. Pursuant to section 5.1(1) of the Federal Courts Act, the full judicial complement of the Federal Court consists of the Chief Justice and 32 other full-time judges. For further information about the Federal Court, please refer to www.fct-cf.gc.ca.

Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada

The main function of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada is to hear appeals from courts martial, which are military courts established under the National Defence Act and which hear cases under the Code of Service Discipline found in Parts III and VII of that Act. Judges of the Federal Court of Appeal and the Federal Court, as well as incumbent trial and appellate judges of the provincial superior courts, are members of this Court. For further information on the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, please refer to www.cmac-cacm.ca.

Tax Court of Canada

The Tax Court of Canada has exclusive original jurisdiction to hear appeals and references under 12 separate acts of Parliament. Most of the appeals made to the Court relate to income tax, the goods and services tax, or employment insurance. While many appeals are subject to procedures similar to those of the Federal Court, appeals under what is known as the “informal procedure” are heard as informally and expeditiously as circumstances and considerations of fairness permit. For further information on the Tax Court of Canada, visit www.tcc-cci.gc.ca.

The judges

On March 31, 2006, the Federal Court of Appeal consisted of the Chief Justice, 9 judges and 2 supernumerary judges. The Federal Court consisted of the Chief Justice, 28 judges, 4 supernumerary judges, 3 deputy judges and 5 prothonotaries. The Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada consisted of the Chief Justice and 62 judges. The Tax Court of Canada consisted of the Chief Justice, 17 judges and 5 supernumerary judges.

The Service in Transition

The Service is dedicated to faithfully implementing the government human resource initiatives in the smoothest way possible for its employees. Several new laws have materialized, such as the Public Service Modernization Act and the Public Service Employment Act. In addition to the significant changes made in internal resourcing practices, this legislation has also enabled us to introduce projects promoting retraining and new staffing.

Our Human Resources, at the Core of our Actions

Public Service Modernization Act

ThePublic Service Modernization Act(PSMA)has had a considerable influence on the way human resources are managed in the Service. With the coming into force of the Public Service Labour Relations Act  (PSLRA) and the amendments made to the Financial Administration Act (FAA), the Service offered its managers training on the responsibilities and obligations flowing from the PSMA and a four-day course pursuant to the implementation of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA). This training enabled our managers to better understand their roles in human resource management, to demystify the evaluation of their employees and to manage more efficiently labour-management relations.

In order to support the objectives of the PSLRA, which are aimed at improving the dialogue between conflicting parties, the Service has taken the initiative to set up labour-management consultation committees in each of the regions as well as in the National Capital Region. The first meetings will take place in 2006-2007.

Also, following the coming into force of the PSMA, the Government set out the guidelines for establishing an informal conflict management system. The Service initiated the implementation of such a system by presenting 20 information sessions to 119 of our employees. This system enables us to continue to maintain positive work relations, to improve communication between employees and to refine our conflict management mechanism, making it more flexible, equitable, fast and efficient.

Public Service Employment Act

With the coming into force of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) in December 2005, the Service developed corporate guidelines for unannounced staffing processes, areas of selection, corrective measures, the revocation of an appointment, and the subdelegation of authority, as well as a staffing surveillance framework.

Other policies and guidelines were developed or modified, such as the policy on the duty to accommodate members of designated groups, i.e. people with disabilities, women, Aboriginal persons and visible minorities.

When the PSEA came into force in December 2005, to ensure its proper implementation within the organization, a four-day course in resourcing as well as a two-day course in planning was offered to all core managers. Some managers also participated in the “Introduction to the PSEA” course offered by the Canadian School of Public Service. In addition, the Service also offered 19 information sessions on the PSEA to 165 participants in the regions, as well as the National Capital Region.

Professional Development

To help meet our human resource needs, the Service has adopted its own continuous learning policy whereby we are committed to providing our employees with opportunities to further their knowledge and upgrade their skills.

In order to support and equip managers in their leadership role, particularly in this period of significant change, the Service provides them with one week of leadership training.

Also, to enable employees to take advantage of employment opportunities, the Service offers managers training in various aspects of job searching, from drafting résumés to preparing for an interview. More than 18 courses were offered to over 150 employees in the Service.

The Service also recognizes the importance of providing its clients with quality service in both official languages. In order to develop and maintain this capacity, the Service continues to provide its staff with second language training. Ninety-two employees – close to one-fifth of our staff – took part in these courses over the lunch hour. Also, registry officers, who do not have the opportunity to use their second language regularly in the course of their duties, were able to participate in an exchange with other officers in regions where their second language is the dominant one. This two-week exchange was very beneficial to the participants. 

Official Languages

In accordance with the provisions of various statutes specific to the judicial field, the parties to a dispute have the right to be served in the language of their choice. This means that serving the public is an important organizational value for the Service and that the staff is made very aware of this. As of March 31, 2005, 95% of incumbents of bilingual positions offering service to the public met the language requirements of their position.

It should also be noted that 88% of the incumbents of the 96 bilingual positions with supervisory duties and 95% of the 438 incumbents of bilingual positions offering personal and central services meet the language requirements of their position.

All of the senior managers meet or exceed the linguistic requirements of their position. Moreover, official language commitments are included in their performance accountability agreement.

Overall, 94% of employees meet the language requirements of their position. There is an equitable representation of both official languages and it has remained at 50% in the organization for some years.

Employment Equity

The Service is proud of its accomplishments in employment equity

With the aim of always honouring our commitments, we offer training to all of our employees on cultural diversity and mutual respect in the workplace. Similarly, the Service evaluates the performance of certain senior managers in terms of equity and this responsibility will be extended to all senior managers in 2006-2007.

The Service, in people and numbers

As of March 31, 2006, 596 employees were involved in providing the legal community, the courts and Canadian citizens with high quality services. Among those, the Service employs:

• 406 women, or 68.1% of our total workforce
• 23 Aboriginal persons, or 3.9% of our total workforce
• 27 persons with disabilities, or 4.5% of our total workforce
• and 50 members of visible minorities, or 8.4% of our total workforce.

Succession Planning

In order to apply the best practices identified in human resources management and to support one of the Service's key priorities, a framework for the preparation of future leaders is being developed.

This framework is focused on the future and is designed to anticipate the gap between positions requiring leadership skills and technical shortcomings that will make themselves felt over the next 10 to 20 years. A task force of employees from each sector of the organization has been formed in order to develop this framework. Furthermore, Service employees will be consulted during the development of the succession planning strategy. They will also participate in the preparation and implementation of this strategy. The succession framework is to be presented to the Senior Management Committee in 2006.

Organizational Changes in Sight

The Service Renews its Organizational Structure

During the past year, efforts have mostly been directed to consolidating and stabilizing our organization, both at the regional offices and at headquarters.

The establishment of a succession planning committee has initiated reflection on and analysis of the means to create a more dynamic organizational structure while enabling our employees to move forward in the Service in a way that is both stimulating and enriching. In this context, and following the merger of our various computer systems, the Service’s registry services and regional offices have started evaluating different organizational models that will provide registry operations greater synergy and versatility.

Also, in order to enhance the employees’ versatility and to forge links between sections and operations, the Senior Management Committee has started to evaluate the current structure of the Service’s senior management.

As of March 31, 2006, the Service had one chief administrator, one deputy chief administrator, one executive director, one legal counsel, 3 regional directors general, 5 directors general at headquarters and 3 registrars all of whom reported to the Chief Administrator. This organizational structure of senior management is currently being reviewed. This reorganization will afford a greater compatibility with the accountability structure required by the Treasury Board.