Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867

Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (French: article 101 de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1867) is a provision of the Constitution of Canada giving the federal Parliament the power to create the Supreme Court of Canada and the federal courts.

The composition of the Court can only be changed by a unanimous constitutional amendment, passed by the two houses of Parliament, and all of the provincial legislative assemblies.

[1] It was the product of extensive negotiations by the governments of the British North American provinces in the 1860s.

[7]Section 101 is found in Part VII of the Constitution Act, 1867, dealing with the judicature.

Section 101 has not been amended since the Act was enacted in 1867, but its scope was expanded by the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931.

Instead, s. 101 gave the federal Parliament the power to establish a "general court of appeal" for Canada.

After Confederation, there was extensive discussion of the proposed court of appeal, with three different bills being considered in the early 1870s.

691–696 The federal Parliament has created a number of courts "for the better administration of the laws of Canada".

Section 41 of the 1982 Act sets out a number of constitutional provisions which can only be changed by unanimous consent of the Senate, the House of Commons, and all ten provincial legislative assemblies.

[20] Section 96 of the Act provides that the Governor General has the power to appoint judges of the provincial superior, district and county courts.

Although in form an appointing power, section 96 has been interpreted as a guarantee of jurisdiction for the provincial superior courts, particularly in constitutional matters.