- Parties: The applicant was Yavar Hameed. The respondents were the Minister of Justice and Prime Minister. 

- Subject Matter: The applicant applied for a writ of mandamus under ss. 18 and 18.1 of the Federal Courts Act, 1985 to compel the Prime Minister and justice minister to appoint judges to fill vacancies in Canada’s superior courts, including the federal courts. 

- Ruling: The court partly granted the application and made the following declarations. First, the Governor General made all federal judicial appointments on Cabinet’s advice. In turn, Cabinet acted on the justice minister’s advice. The Prime Minister advised Cabinet on appointments of chief justices and associate chief justices. Second, appointments to fill judicial vacancies under s. 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867 and s. 5.2 of the Federal Courts Act should be made within a reasonable time of the vacancy. Third, the May 3, 2023 letter from Canada’s chief justice and the Canadian Judicial Council to the Prime Minister stated the reasons for requiring appointments to fill current vacancies. Fourth, the court was making the second and third declarations since it expected a material reduction in the number of vacancies in a reasonable time such that the total number of vacancies would return to the mid-40s. 

- Date: The hearing was set on Nov. 15, 2023. The court released its decision on Feb. 13, 2024. 

- Venue: This was a federal case before the Federal Court. 

- Amount: The court ordered the respondents to pay the applicant $1500 in all-inclusive costs.