Supreme Court of Canada Justice Morris Fish will retire at the end of the spring session.

"By the date of my planned retirement, I will have served my country as a Justice of its highest courts for nearly a quarter-century — including more than 10 years on the Supreme Court of Canada," he said in a statement. "I am grateful to have enjoyed this privilege and mindful of the honour and public trust that attach to the holding of judicial office in Canada."

Fish's retirement is effective August 31, but he will be allowed to participate in judgments for a six-month period involving cases he heard before his retirement.

Fish, who was appointed in 2003 by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, had been a judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal before elevated to the top court.

His mandatory requirement date is Nov. 16, 2013, as he turns 75.

The next judge to be appointed as his replacement on Canada's top bench will be the sixth during Stephen Harper's time as prime minister.