Puisne Definition: Junior or lower in rank, as opposed to the chief justice. Related Terms: Judicial Branch Ballentine's Law Dictionary suggests that puisne has two meanings:"Younger; junior in point of time, right or rank."An associate judge."The term is used mostly to refer to judges on a court to distinguish from the chief justice.For example, there are 8 puisne judges on the Supreme Court of Canada and a chief justice. Indeed, §4(1) of the Supreme Court Act:"The Court shall consist of a chief justice to be called the Chief Justice of Canada, and eight puisne judges."French: puîné as in un juge puîné.REFERENCES:Supreme Court Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S-26 Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!