Supreme Court of Canada

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Supreme Court of Canada
Cour suprême du Canada
The badge of the Supreme Court[1]
The flag of the Supreme Court (left) and the Cormier Emblem (right)[1]
45°25′19″N 75°42′20″W / 45.42194°N 75.70556°W / 45.42194; -75.70556
Established	8 April 1875; 149 years ago (8 April 1875)
Jurisdiction	Canada
Location	Ottawa, Ontario
Coordinates	45°25′19″N 75°42′20″W / 45.42194°N 75.70556°W / 45.42194; -75.70556
Composition method	Judicial appointments in Canada
Authorized by	Constitution Act, 1867 and Supreme Court Act, 1875
Judge term length	Mandatory retirement at age 75
Number of positions	9
Website	www.scc-csc.ca
Chief Justice of Canada
Currently	Richard Wagner
Since	18 December 2017
Lead position ends	2 April 2032

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The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; French: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada.^[2] It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts. The Supreme Court is bijural, hearing cases from two major legal traditions (common law and civil law) and bilingual, hearing cases in both official languages of Canada (English and French).^[3]

The effects of any judicial decision on the common law, on the interpretation of statutes, or on any other application of law, can, in effect, be nullified by legislation, unless the particular decision of the court in question involves application of the Canadian Constitution, in which case, the decision (in most cases) is completely binding on the legislative branch.^[4] This is especially true of decisions which touch upon the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which cannot be altered by the legislative branch unless the decision is overridden pursuant to section 33 (the "notwithstanding clause").