Judges Act

Marginal note:Leave of absence

• 54 (1) No judge of a superior court shall be granted leave of absence from his or her judicial duties for a period

  • (a) of six months or less, except with the approval of the chief justice or senior judge of the superior court; or

  • (b) of more than six months, except with the approval of the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Notification of leave by chief justice, etc.

  (1.1) Whenever a leave of absence is granted under paragraph (1)(a), the chief justice or senior judge of the superior court shall, without delay, notify the Minister of Justice of Canada and, in the case of provincial or territorial courts, the minister of justice or the attorney general of the province or territory.

• Marginal note:Notification of leave by Minister of Justice of Canada

  (1.2) Whenever a leave of absence is granted under paragraph (1)(b), the Minister of Justice of Canada shall, without delay, notify the chief justice or senior judge of the superior court and, in the case of provincial or territorial courts, the minister of justice or the attorney general of the province or territory.

• Marginal note:Report by chief justice, etc., of absence

  (2) If it appears to the chief justice or senior judge of a superior court that a judge of the court is absent from the judge’s judicial duties without the approval required by subsection (1), the chief justice or senior judge, as the case may be, shall report the absence to the Minister of Justice of Canada.

• Marginal note:Absentee judge to report

  (3) Whenever a judge of a superior court is absent from the judge’s judicial duties for a period of more than 30 days, the judge shall report the absence and the reasons for it to the Minister of Justice of Canada.

• Definition of senior judge

  (4) In this section, senior judge, in respect of the Supreme Court of Yukon, the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories or the Nunavut Court of Justice, means the judge with the earliest date of appointment to the court in question who has not made an election under subsection 29(1) or 32.1(1) or, in the case of more than one such judge having been appointed on the same day, the judge that the Governor in Council may designate as the senior judge.