Access to justice in the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court 1980-2022

• Published in: Dalhousie law journal Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 1 - 44
• Main Author: Charles, William H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Halifax, NS Canada Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law 22.03.2024; Dalhousie University Press Limited
• Subjects: Actions and defenses; Appellate courts; Canadian provinces; Conflict of interests; Copyright; Dispute resolution (Law); Equitable remedies; Executive orders; Laws, regulations and rules; Lawyers; Powers and duties; Small claims courts; Nova Scotia
• ISSN: 0317-1663; 2563-9277

In his latest research paper the author explores the extent or degree to which the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court achieves its declared purpose of providing the citizens of the province with what can accurately be described as a "People's Court," that is, a legal agency that would allow ordinary citizens to pursue their legal claims expeditiously and at a reasonable cost with a process that involved lawyers/adjudicators rather than judges. After a review and analysis of several thousand decisions by Nova Scotia Adjudicators/lawyers, the author concluded that the creators of the court had been largely successful and its full vision as a "People's Court" had been substantially achieved, although as the reviewers cautioned, it is still a work in progress. The author further suggests that now, more than ever, with our increasingly litigious society pressing its' perceived legal claims, the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court is a Nova Scotia legal institution that needs and deserves to be supported by the Nova Scotia government.