Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d'être

The Courts Administration Service (CAS) was established on July 2, 2003, with the coming into force of the Courts Administration Service Act, S.C. 2002, c. 8 (CAS Act). Our role is to support Canada’s justice system by providing innovative, timely and efficient judicial, registry, corporate and digital services to the Courts. By delivering these services, CAS enables the Courts to hear and resolve the cases before them fairly, without delay and as efficiently as possible. Our services also facilitate access to justice for all Canadians by enabling litigants and legal counsel to submit disputes and other matters to be heard before the Courts.

Mandate and role

As stated in section 2 of the CAS Act, CAS is mandated to:

• facilitate coordination and cooperation among the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Tax Court of Canada (the Courts) for the purpose of ensuring the effective and efficient provision of administrative services;
• enhance judicial independence by placing administrative services at arm’s length from the Government of Canada and by affirming the roles of Chief Justices and judges in the management of the Courts; and
• enhance accountability for the use of public money in support of court administration while safeguarding the independence of the judiciary.