Differences Between Family Court, Supreme Court & the Supreme Court (Family Division)
Printer-friendly versionThe Supreme Court (Family Divisions) operate in Halifax, Sydney, and Port Hawkesbury, and cover the areas of the Halifax Regional Municipality and all of Cape Breton. They are sometimes called ‘unified family courts’ or the ‘Family Divisions.’ The Family Divisions deal with all family law issues, including divorce, adoptions, child protection, adult protection, property and pension issues, child custody and access, and child and spousal support/maintenance. The Family Divisions operate using the Nova Scotia Civil Procedure Rules.
In areas outside of the Halifax Regional Municipality and Cape Breton, there are two levels of court that deal with family law issues – the Supreme Courts and the Family Courts. The Supreme Courts deal with issues like divorce and divorce variations, and property and pensions, and operate using the Nova Scotia Civil Procedure Rules. The Family Courts deal with issues such as child protection, adult protection, child custody and access, and child and spousal maintenance on ‘non-divorce’ files, and operate using the Family Court Rules.
The judges of the Family Court are appointed by the Provincial Government, and are addressed as ‘Your Honour.’ The judges of the Supreme Court or Supreme Court (Family Divisions) are called ‘justices,’ and are appointed by the Federal Government. In court, they are addressed as ‘My Lord’ or ‘My Lady.’
This will depend on what court the file is located at, and sometimes will depend on the type of family law matter the case is dealing with.
Note: a ‘party’ to a file is someone who is specifically named on the court file – generally, only the Applicant(s) and the Respondent(s) are parties to the file. If there are children involved, the children are not parties to the file.
Family Court:
If the court file is in Family Court, then no one except the parties (or the parties’ lawyers) is allowed to look at the court file. This is the case no matter what kind of family law matter is before the court. A person who is not a party may be able to apply to the court to gain access to a file, but this is not often done. A judge may or may not authorize the person making the application to view the file, depending on the circumstances.
Supreme Court (Family Division):
If the court file is in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division) in Halifax, Sydney, or Port Hawkesbury, similar rules apply. If the case is about a child protection matter (a matter brought to court under the Children and Family Services Act) then no one but the parties or their lawyers will have the right to see the file. This includes adoption proceedings.
If the matter involves any other kind of family law, then the parties or their lawyers have the right to see the file, but others have to give at least 20 days’ notice to the parties if they want to see the court file. The notice must be in writing and must be personally served on the parties.
The parties have the right to object to the file being accessed by a non-party. If they do object, then they need to file a motion with the court for an order that seals all or part of the court file. A judge will then decide whether access will be allowed or not, and if it is allowed, whether it will be full access, or access with conditions. The media also has to be given notice when this kind of application is made. If the parties do not object by filing the motion within the 20 days, then the non-party has the right to see the file. Check with court staff for more information on this issue.
Supreme Court:
If the court file is in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (NOT the Family Division), then different rules apply. Anyone may access a family law court file, but a Prothonotary (the chief court clerk or their deputy) may refuse to allow the person to view the file, if the file involves a child. A person who has been denied access to a family law file may make a motion (a special kind of court application) to a judge to request access to the file. They would have to give notice to the parties of this court motion by serving documents on them. The judge will then decide if allowing access to the file might cause harm to the child. The judge may allow full access to the file, or allow access with conditions, like not being allowed to publish information. The judge also has the right to seal the file so that it will be treated confidentially and no one but the parties, or their lawyers, will be allowed to see it. Check with court staff for more information on this issue.
Certain information in family law files may be removed or sealed, even if access to the court file is allowed. A judge has the right to make this kind of order. The information to be sealed could include things like personal income or tax information, and medical or mental health reports. Some documents are not normally considered to be part of the court file, like settlement conference proposal letters and judges’ notes, or documents that specific laws say cannot be made public.
This will depend on the court you are in and the type of family law matter that is involved in the court appearance.
In Family Court:
Matters heard in the Family Court are not public. This means that the only people allowed to be in the courtroom when a matter is being dealt with are the judge, the court officers, the parties, the parties’ lawyers, the witnesses involved in the case, and anyone else that the judge allows in the room.
In Supreme Court (Family Division):
Matters in the Supreme Court (Family Division) in Halifax, Sydney and Port Hawkesbury are open to the public, unless a judge has made an order requiring the matter to be closed to the public. One of the parties would need to make a motion to the court requesting that the proceedings be closed and the media would have to be notified. A judge would then be able to decide whether the matter would be closed to the public, or what other terms or conditions might be needed. Talk to your lawyer or court staff if you think you may need to make this kind of request.
In Supreme Court:
Matters in the Supreme Court (NOT the Family Division) are open to the public, unless a judge has made an order requiring the matter to be closed to the public. One of the parties would need to make a motion to the court requesting that the proceedings be closed and the media would have to be notified. A judge would then be able to decide whether the matter would be closed to the public or what other terms or conditions might be needed. Talk to your lawyer or court staff if you think you may need to make this kind of request.
Decisions in some family law matters are published. They can be found online in some situations. Whether they are published will usually depend on whether the decision was written down or just given out loud (orally) and not written down.
If an order was made to treat the court case as being confidential, then the court may not publish the written decision, or may publish it without using the parties’ names. For example, the court may refer to the parties by their initials instead of their full names, or may use other ways to keep the public from knowing who the parties or their children are, while still allowing the public to know what decisions the court is making.