After more than 25 years as a Judge on the Provincial and Family Courts of Nova Scotia, The Honourable Robert Prince has retired from the Bench. His last day was May 31, 2021.

Judge Prince was born in Hamilton, Ont. He lived in Quebec and New Brunswick before settling in Yarmouth, N.S. He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1977 from St. Thomas University and his LLB from the University of New Brunswick Law School in 1980.

He was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1980 and went on to practice at Hood and Associate. In 1986 he was appointed the Crown Attorney for Yarmouth County and prosecuted trials in French throughout the province.

Judge Prince was appointed to the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia in 1994. He was based in southwest Nova Scotia but presided over trials in French throughout the province.

“Access to justice can mean different things to different people,” said Chief Judge Pamela Williams. “For those French-speaking Nova Scotians who appeared before Judge Prince, access to justice was the opportunity to be heard in their first language. You can’t underestimate the significance of that for a victim, an accused individual or any other court participant. I want to thank Judge Prince for his years of service and many contributions to the legal profession. We wish him all the best in retirement.”

During his judicial career, Judge Prince was active in the Nova Scotia Provincial Judges’ Association and the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges (CAPCJ). He was President of CAPCJ from 2010 to 2011 and a Board Member of the Canadian Center for Court Technology.