The Supreme Court is comprised of a General Division and a Family Division. The jurisdiction of the Family Division is set out in sections 43.7 and 43.9 of the Judicature Act.
GEOGRAPHIC JURISDICTION
The Family Division can exercise its jurisdiction in a “judicial area” or in the “expanded service area”.
There are two judicial areas in the Province, one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast. The judicial area on the East Coast includes part of the Avalon Peninsula (as far as Holyrood and including Bell Island). The other judicial area includes the West Coast of the island of Newfoundland, including the Northern Peninsula.
The expanded service area includes the area from Holyrood to Port Blandford, including the Bonavista Peninsula.
SUBJECT-MATTER JURISDICTION
The Family Division exercises jurisdiction over almost all family law matters, including claims relating to: divorce, property disputes between spouses/partners, spousal/partner support, child support, parenting, child protection and adoption.
In the judicial areas, the Family Division exercises exclusive jurisdiction over such family law matters. That means that all family law matters in these areas will be dealt with in the Family Division. In the expanded service area, though, the Family Division shares jurisdiction with the Provincial Court. People living in that part of the Province have the option of filing certain types of family law applications with the Family Division or with the Provincial Court. This includes applications for a parenting order brought under the Children’s Law Act, support applications brought under the Family Law Act or adoption applications under the Adoption Act, 2013.
If you have a question about where you should commence your family law proceeding, please contact us or speak to a lawyer.