Nova Scotia. County Courts

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

Nova Scotia. County Courts

Parallel form(s) of name

    Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

      Other form(s) of name

        Identifiers for corporate bodies

        Description area

        Dates of existence

        1874-

        History

        The County Courts were established in 1874 by an act that divided Nova Scotia into judicial districts, each presided over by a judge appointed federally pursuant to the Constitution Act of 1867. Of the seven districts, comprehending all eighteen counties, District Number One comprised Halifax County; District Number Two: Lunenburg, Shelburne, and Queens counties; District Number Three: Annapolis, Digby, and Yarmouth counties; District Number Four: Kings, Hants, and Colchester counties; District Number Five: Pictou and Cumberland counties; District Number Six: Inverness, Antigonish, and Guysborough counties; and District Number Seven: Cape Breton, Victoria, and Richmond counties. The new County Courts divested the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia of some of its original civil jurisdiction, which it had exclusively exercised since the statutory abolition in 1841 of the Inferior Courts of Common Pleas (county/district/township). The County Courts heard actions for debt not exceeding $400, tort actions for damages not exceeding $200, and appeals from the summary judgments of magistrates. Legislation in 1889 conferred a limited criminal jurisdiction on County Court judges, subject to a right of appeal to the Supreme Court.

        Places

        Legal status

        Functions, occupations and activities

        Mandates/sources of authority

        Internal structures/genealogy

        General context

        Relationships area

        Access points area

        Subject access points

        Place access points

        Occupations

        Control area

        Authority record identifier

        Institution identifier

        Rules and/or conventions used

        Status

        Level of detail

        Dates of creation, revision and deletion

        Language(s)

          Script(s)

            Sources

            Maintenance notes