FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
This section outlines the types of questions most frequently directed to the Council office.
About complaints regarding judges:
How do I make a complaint regarding a judge?
How do I know whether a judge is a federally appointed judge or not?
How do I contact provincial- appointed judges?
I have a complaint about the judge in my small claims court case. What do I do?
About the Council's mandate and process for dealing with complaints regarding judges:
The Council's Authority
What is the Council's mandate and process for dealing with complaints involving federally appointed judges?
About complaints regarding lawyers and court officials:
I have a complaint about my lawyer. What do I do?
I have a complaint about a court official. What do I do?
About Judges:
How do I become a judge?
How many judges are there in Canada? Of these, how many are women?
How many judges are members of visible minorities?
What is the salary of a federally appointed judge?
About a code of conduct for judges:
About complaints regarding judges
1.1 How do I make a complaint against a judge?
Please visit the Complaint Procedure section for detailed information.
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1.2 How do I know whether a judge is a federally appointed judge or not?
Federally appointed judges serve in the following courts:
| In British Columbia: Court of Appeal Supreme Court In Alberta: In Saskatchewan: In Manitoba: In Ontario: In Quebec: |
In New Brunswick: Court of Appeal Court of Queen's Bench In Nova Scotia: In Prince Edward Island: In Newfoundland and Labrador: |
1.3 How do I contact provincial- appointed judges?
If the judge is a provincially-appointed judge, write to the appropriate office as outlined below.
| In British Columbia: Chief Judge, Provincial Court of British Columbia 602 - 700 West Georgia Street P.O. Box 10287 Vancouver, British Columbia V7Y 1E8 Tel: (604) 660-2864 Fax: (604) 660-1108 In Alberta: In Saskatchewan: In Manitoba: In Ontario: |
In Québec: Le Secrétaire du Conseil Conseil de la Magistrature du Québec Pièce 608 300, boul. Jean Lesage Québec (Québec) G1K 8K6 Tel: (418) 644-2196 Fax: (418) 528-1581 In New Brunswick: Chairperson New Brunswick Judicial Council Chief Justice of New Brunswick The Justice Building P.O. Box 6000 Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5H1 Tel: (506) 453-2776 Fax: (506) 444-4392 In Nova Scotia: In Newfoundland and Labrador: |
1.4 I have a complaint about the judge in my small claims court case. What do I do?
Depending upon your province of residence, a complaint about a small claims court judge will usually be made to the appropriate provincial judicial council.
However, the answer is somewhat more complicated for the province of Ontario. If your small claims case was dealt with by a Small Claims Court Judge who is provincially appointed, your complaint is sent to the Ontario Judicial Council at P.O. Box 914, 31 Adelaide Street East, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2K3.
If not dealt with by a Small Claims Court Judge, your case will have been dealt with by a Deputy Judge. Such "judges" are, in fact, lawyers. Complaints about their conduct should be sent in writing to the Regional Senior Justice (RSJ) in the region where the deputy judge sits. The name and address of the RSJ can be obtained from the courthouse where the small claims court case was dealt with.
About the Council's mandate and process for dealing with complaints regarding judges
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The Council's Authority The Canadian Judicial Council takes direction from Canada's Constitution, from legislation and from its own by-laws and procedures in dealing with complaints: • The Constitution Act, 1867 |
2.1 What is the Council's mandate and process for dealing with complaints involving federally appointed judges?
Under section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the judges of Canada's superior courts "shall hold office during good behaviour" and be removed only by Parliament.
This constitutional provision was copied from English practice first enacted in the Act of Settlement, 1701. The principle of judicial independence is one of the essential pillars of parliamentary democracy.
In order to ensure judicial independence, it was intended not that judges would be guaranteed tenure regardless of their behaviour, but rather that it would be extremely difficult to remove them from their offices for political or other reasons as had frequently been the case prior to 1688. There has been only one Parliamentary removal in the United Kingdom since 1701.
The principles of judicial independence were entrenched in Canada's Constitution at the time of Confederation in 1867. Since that time, there have been five Petitions for removal of a superior court judge filed in Parliament, four in the 19th century, and one -- the Landreville case in 1966-67 -- which was terminated when the judge resigned. In none of these cases was there a parliamentary vote.
The 1971 amendments to the Judges Act created the Canadian Judicial Council which was given statutory authority to investigate complaints against federally appointed judges. The Council consists of 39 Chief and Associate Chief Justices/Chief and Associate Chief Judge of courts whose members are appointed by the federal government.
The resignation of a judge terminates the Council's process because the Council's only jurisdiction under the Act is to decide whether to recommend the judge's removal from office.
There are two methods by which complaints are considered by the Council: under ss.63(2) or under ss.63(1) of the Act.
Under ss. 63(2) of the Act, any member of the public (including a provincial attorney general or the federal Minister of Justice) may make a complaint about a federally appointed judge by writing to the Canadian Judicial Council. The Council's jurisdiction arises, however, only upon a complaint being made about inappropriate conduct on the part of a judge. Many complaints received by the Council are about a judge's decision. The Council has no authority to hear appeals, overturn decisions, order new trials, or provide other legal remedies, which are all the functions of appellate courts.
As provided in the Council's Complaints Procedures, complaints are first screened by the Chairperson or a Vice-Chairperson of the Judicial Conduct Committee of the Council. Comments are often sought from the judge and his or her Chief Justice. If serious enough to merit further consideration, the matter is referred to a Panel of up to five chief justices and puisne judges, often following a fact-finding investigation by independent counsel.
The Panel can close the file with or without an expression of concern about the conduct which led to the complaint, or it can recommend to the full Council that there be a formal investigation under ss. 63(2) of the Act to determine whether to recommend the judge's removal from office. In special circumstances, a file may be closed when the judge agrees to receive counselling or undertake other remedial measures to deal with a problem that has been identified.
If the Council decides to undertake a formal investigation, an Inquiry Committee is appointed. The Committee generally consists of two Council members together with a lawyer appointed by the Minister of Justice of Canada.
An Inquiry Committee has the same powers as a superior court to summon witnesses, take evidence and require the production of documents. A judge whose conduct is being investigated is entitled to be heard and to be represented by counsel.
Upon completion of its investigation, the Inquiry Committee makes a report to the Canadian Judicial Council. This report may include a recommendation that the judge in question be removed from judicial office because he/she has become, in the words of the Act, "incapacitated or disabled from the due execution of the office of judge" for one or more of the reasons set out in the Act.
Upon receipt of such report, the full Council, with or without receiving further submissions from the judge, must formulate a recommendation to the Minister of Justice that the judge be removed, or not be removed, from judicial office. Although there has never been a Parliamentary removal, a number of judges have resigned at various stages of the process triggered by complaints of misconduct.
The second method for complaints to be considered (and only used seven times since the Council's creation in 1971) is under ss.63(1) of the Act. That section provides that the Minister of Justice of Canada or the Attorney General of a province may "request" the Council to commence an inquiry. "Request" in this context is mandatory, and the Council must establish an inquiry upon receiving such a request. The initial procedures outlined above for complaints received under ss. 63(2) of the Act are therefore by-passed.
References (4)
1. Constitution Act, 1867, s.99
2. Judges Act, R.S.C. 1985,c.J-1,sections 63-65
3. Canadian Judicial Council Inquiries and Investigations By-laws
4. Procedures for Dealing with Complaints made to the Canadian Judicial Council about Federally Appointed Judges
About complaints regarding lawyers and court officials
3.1 I have a complaint about my lawyer. What do I do?
Complaints about lawyers are matters for the provincial Law Society (in Quebec, for the Barreau du Québec), whose offices are normally located in the provincial capital. The Canadian Judicial Council has no jurisdiction with respect to such complaints.
3.2 I have a complaint about a court official. What do I do?
Generally court officials are employees of the provincial government, or in the case of the "national courts" (the Supreme Court of Canada, the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal, or the Federal Court) are employees of the federal government. If you have a complaint about a court official in the provincial or territorial courts, write to the Deputy Minister of Justice of the province/territory concerned. If the complaint is about an employee of a "national" court, write to the Registrar of the relevant court. The Canadian Judicial Council has no jurisdiction with respect to such matters.
About Judges
4.1 How do I become a judge?
The Canadian Judicial Council has no role in the appointment of judges. Individuals who wish to be considered for appointment to a superior court or to the Tax Court of Canada should obtain a Personal History Form from the Judicial Appointments Secretariat in the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs, phone (613) 992-9400, fax (613) 941-0607.
If you are interested in appointment to a provincial or territorial court, you should contact the office of the relevant provincial/territorial Minister of Justice for information.
4.2 How many judges are there in Canada? Of these, how many are women?
There are over 2,000 federally and provincially appointed judges in Canada, approximately half appointed by the federal government, and the other half by the ten provincial and three territorial governments. Exact figures for the number of federally appointed judges, male and female, can be obtained by contacting the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs, phone (613) 992-2917, fax (613) 995-5615.
Insofar as provincially appointed judges are concerned, it may be that the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges (CAPCJ) will be able to provide an answer. The Executive Director of the CAPCJ is The Honourable Judge Irwin E. Lampert, Box 5001 Moncton, New Brunswick, E1C 8R3, phone (506) 856-2352.
4.3 How many judges are members of visible minorities?
To the best of our knowledge, no such information exists. Inquiries should be directed either to the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs or to the Office of the Minister of Justice of Canada (for federally appointed judges), or to provincial /territorial Ministers of Justice (for provincial or territorial appointments).
4.4 What is the salary of a federally appointed judge?
Effective April 1, 2003 the salary of a federally appointed judge, other than a chief justice or a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, was $216,600.
Salaries for federally appointed judges are set by Parliament under the Judges Act. Further information may be obtained from the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.
About a code of conduct for judges
5.1 Is there a Code of Conduct for judges in Canada?
There is no written code of conduct for federally appointed judges. There are, however, various documents published by the Canadian Judicial Council over the years which discuss the ethical standards to which judges aspire. The most recent document, Ethical Principles for Judges, a 50 page booklet offering advice and guidance to judges, was published on December 1, 1998.
Some provinces - British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec being the only ones to the best of our knowledge - have some form of code of conduct for provincially appointed judges. For further information, contact the relevant provincial judicial council.