Paying out of the Public Purse & the Power of a Statutory Court to Control its Own Process
E very court of law has the authority to control its own process. Superior Courts A superior court’s power to control its process is part of a superior court’s inherent jurisdiction: R. v. Cunningham , 2010 SCC 10, at para. 18; Canada (Attorney General) v. Pacific International Securities Inc., 2006 BCCA 3030, at para. 28. Pursuant to the power to control its own process, a superior court can, among many other things: · order parties to pay costs for frivolous or abusive proceedings or in cases involving misconduct: R. v. Chapman (2006), 2006 CanLII 1178 (ON CA); · remove counsel from a case when required to ensure a fair trial . MacDonald Estate v. Martin , 1990 CanLII 32 (SCC). Statutory Courts A statutory court’s ability to control its own process as largely parallel to a superior court’s ability to control its...