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Second
Session, 50th General Assembly II Charles III, 2023 |
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AN ACT RESPECTING
KING'S COUNSEL AND ORDER OF PRECEDENCE IN THE COURTS |
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Received and Read the First Time................................................................ |
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Second
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Committee..................................................................................................... |
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Third
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Royal Assent................................................................................................. |
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HONOURABLE JOHN HOGAN, KC Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General |
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Ordered to be printed by
the Honourable House of Assembly |
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EXPLANATORY NOTES A BILL AN ACT RESPECTING KING'S COUNSEL AND ORDER OF PRECEDENCE IN THE COURTS Analysis 1. Short title 2. Definitions 3. Board continued 4. Composition and duties of board 5. Appointment of King's Counsel 6. Eligibility for appointment 7. Order of precedence 8. Licence not required 9. RSNL1990 cP-43 Amdt. 10. RSNL1990 cQ-2 Rep. Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows: Short title 1. This
Act may be cited as the King's Counsel
Act. Definitions 2. In this Act (a) "board" means the Legal Appointments Board continued under section 3; (b) "King's Counsel" means "His Majesty's Counsel learned in the law"; (c) "Law Society" means the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador; and (d) "minister" means the minister appointed under the Executive Council Act to administer this Act. Board continued 3. The Legal Appointments Board is continued. Composition and duties of board 4. (1) The board shall consist of 5 members appointed by the minister. (2) Two of the members appointed under subsection (1) shall be chosen from a list of 7 members of the Law Society submitted by the benchers of the Law Society at the request of the minister. (3) The minister shall, where
practicable, ensure that among the persons appointed to the board (a) one person is a
practising member of the Law Society and resident outside the metropolitan area
of St. John's; (b) one person is a
bencher of the Law Society; and (c) one person is a
practising member of the Law Society who has been practising law for less than
10 years. (4) The minister shall
designate one of the members of the board as chairperson. (5) A vacancy in the
membership of the board does not invalidate the constitution of the board or
impair the right of the remaining members to act provided that there are at
least 3 members. (6) The duties of the board are (a) to consult with the
minister regarding appointments to be made under section 5; (b) to recommend at the
request of the minister the names of suitable persons for consideration for
appointment under section 5; and (c) to make
recommendations respecting other appointments to legal offices in the province
that may be referred to the board by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council. Appointment of King's Counsel 5. (1)
On the recommendation of the minister, after
consultation with the board, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, by letters
patent under the Great Seal, appoint during pleasure from among the members of
the Law Society, persons that the minister considers right to be provincial
officers under the style of "His Majesty's Counsel learned in the
law". (2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may only appoint 10 persons as King's Counsel in a calendar year, however, where 10 persons were not appointed in a preceding year, the appointments for a calendar year may be increased by the number of appointments that were not filled in a preceding year. (3) Appointments may be
made at one or more times in a calendar year but the number of persons
appointed in a calendar year shall not exceed the number prescribed in
subsection (2). Eligibility for appointment 6. (1) A person is eligible to be appointed as King's Counsel under subsection 5(1) where the person has been a member of the Law Society for at least 10 years. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person who has been a member of the Law Society for less than 10 years may be appointed as King’s Counsel under subsection 5(1) where the person has been a member of the Law Society and a member of a law society of another province or territory of Canada for an accumulated period of at least 10 years. Order of precedence 7. (1) The following persons have precedence in the courts of the
province in the following order: (a) the Attorney General of Canada; (b) the Attorney General
of the province; (c) the Solicitor General of Canada; (d) the members of the Law
Society who have filled the office of Attorney General for Canada or of Attorney General for the province, according to
seniority of appointment as attorney general; (e) the members of the Law
Society who have filled the office of Solicitor General for Canada according to seniority of appointment as Solicitor General; (f) King's Counsel of
the province according to seniority of appointment; and (g) other members of the
Law Society in order of their admission. (2) The
Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, by letters patent under the Great Seal,
grant to a member of the Law Society a patent of precedence in the courts of the
province. (3) Nothing in this Act
affects or alters rights of precedence that belong to a member of the Law
Society when acting as counsel for the Crown, or for an Attorney General of the
Crown, in a matter depending in the name of the Crown or of the Attorney
General before the courts, but those rights and precedence remain as if this
Act had not been passed. Licence not required 8. A King's Counsel does not require a licence from the Crown
to act as counsel (a) for a party
litigating with the Crown; or (b) for an accused in a
prosecution for an offence against an act of the Parliament of Canada or a
statute of the province. RSNL1990 cP-43 Amdt. 9. Schedule C to the Public Service Commission Act is amended by (a) deleting the statutory appointment reference
"Queen's Counsel Act, subsection 7(2) with respect to appointments not
recommended by benchers"; and (b) adding immediately after the statutory appointment reference "Income and Employment Support Act, section 42" the statutory appointment reference "King's Counsel Act, subsection 4(1) with respect to those persons not recommended by the benchers of the Law Society". RSNL1990 cQ-2 Rep. 10. The Queen's Counsel Act is repealed. ©King's Printer |