The second main building I visited as part of the Ottawa 2010 Doors Open event is the Supreme Court. Located on Parliament Hill, the imposing grey building sits in the background, close to the Ottawa River.
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. To have permission to appeal a decision made by a provincial or territorial court, the matter must be of public importance. Immigration cases can sometimes be taken to the Supreme Court, such as in Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Khosa or Baker v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration). Other famous cases tackles equality, discrimination, dignity, rights, etc.
The building is currently undergoing renovation (yes, it is construction season after all!), so I entered by the small door. Right after going through security, I stepped into the Grand Entrance Hall, with the logo of the Supreme Court, the “S” and the “C.”
The second floor has the Main Courtroom, an impressive room with wooden walls and red chairs. The federal court of Canada is located on the ground floor and has a similar design, even though it seemed smaller. Overall, the atmosphere was very formal and solemn. An interesting place to visit, hopefully I will never be anymore more than a visitor here!
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The building has always impressed me, it’s just so massive! It looks pretty good inside, I wish I had the chance to visit too 🙂
So very different from where our Supreme Court holds … erm, court. 🙂 Much cleaner, less opulent … stylish. What are the computer screens for?
That Doors Open event looks similar to our Tourist in your own town event, where all the museums and buildings were open. Great that you take advantage of this occasion to visit interesting places. The Supreme Court looks enourmous and impressive to me. I have witnessed in court cases several times in the last half year (job hazzard hahaha) and we have a modern courthouse with lots of small courtrooms so they can try many cases at the same time. A totally modern glass buiding too, so it seems weird to see the good old fashioned style now.
Court is a place I dread to go to, LOL… but it’s great to see the pictures of its interior.
“… was laid by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in the presence of His Majesty King George VI”
Meaning that the corner stone was laid during the reign of King George VI, when QE2 was still a princess?
WOW, makes you feel scared. I guess the extremely large size of the big courts is to convince you that they hold the highest legal office in the country. 😉
I’d love to visit Supreme court of Canada! I studied a bit about criminal justice system in University and I found the topic very fascinating. 🙂
I didn’t realize Ottawa had the doors open weekend. I guess all the major cities must have? I know dd and her boyfriend went round the Toronto one last year and had a great time, they were away in Vancouver this year when it was on at the end of May.
Gill
@Cynthia – I never had the chance to visit it myself before, so I took the chance 🙂
@Ghosty Kips – I guess the computer screen can show evidence etc. I bet they are also useful to display materials in both official languages.
@DianeCA – Yes, I know what you mean, in France they have a few very modern ones, but I like this old-fashioned court. I’ve always wanted to sit during a case, maybe one day.
@khengsiong – I guess it was! Canada is a “new” country but it still has a long history.
@Nigel Babu – 😆 Probably! It’s not that big actually, but the room looks big because of the high ceiling.
@Poem – Law is an interesting subject, not my field though. It’s complicated in Canada with both the French and the English laws.
@Gill – I think it’s an event a lot of big cities have, at least in Europe.
Salut Zhu,
Hiw interesting! I have some very good reading to catch up on on this blog.
It sounds a bit like “les journées du Patrimoine”, with visits in places that are normally not visited by the general public.
Very good post idea 🙂
I like the exterior of these quaint old buildings, thank you for sharing these lovely pictures.
We use English Law in Malaysia too.
I studied it before I came over here.
But because my university was in Scotland.
I had to study Scottish Law too!! Ha ha…
They have their own law up there, you know!?
Speaking of Scotland, do you know the stones piled up together used in your Blog heading photos?
Third from the top left (next to the flag).
Those stones are very common in Scottish mountains.
I think we call them cairns?!
Yes, like the city in Australia. 🙂
Wonderful photos as always, thank you for sharing!