4111 Judges
Judges adjudicate civil and criminal cases and administer justice in courts of law. Judges preside over federal and provincial courts.
Example Titles
- Court of Queen's Bench justice
- Supreme Court justice
- chief justice
- county court judge
- district court judge
- family court judge
- federal trial court justice
- provincial court of appeal justice
- small claims court judge
- superior court justice
View all titlesMain duties
Judges perform some or all of the following duties:
- Preside over courts of law, interpret and enforce rules of procedure and make rulings regarding the admissibility of evidence
- Instruct the jury on laws that are applicable to the case
- Weigh and consider evidence in non-jury trials and decide legal guilt or innocence or degree of liability of the accused or defendant
- Pass sentence on persons convicted in criminal cases and determine damages or other appropriate remedy in civil cases
- Grant divorces and divide assets between spouses
- Determine custody of children between contesting parents and other guardians
- Enforce court orders for access or support
- Supervise other judges and court officers.
Judges may specialize in particular areas of law such as civil, criminal or family law.Employment requirements
- Extensive experience as a lawyer or as a professor of law with continuous membership in the bar association is usually required.
- Membership in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society or bar association is required.
- Judges are appointed by federal or provincial cabinet.
- Those appointed to more senior positions in a court, such as chief justice, usually have experience as judges in that court.
Classified elsewhere
- Administrative tribunal judges
(in
0411 Government Managers - Health and Social Policy Development and Program Administration
)
- Citizenship court judges
(in
1227 Court Officers and Justices of the Peace
)
- Justices of the Peace
(in
1227 Court Officers and Justices of the Peace
)