Roles and oversight

The Assistant Deputy Attorney General (ADAG) of the Court Services Division (CSD) oversees the administration of Ontario’s courts on behalf of the Attorney General, and is responsible for legislative, regulatory and operational policy and program development related to improving the court system.

The division is organized into 7 administrative regions:

  • Central West
  • West
  • Toronto
  • Central East
  • East
  • Northeast
  • Northwest

The ADAG is supported by 3 corporate branch directors and 7 regional directors of court operations. Three executive legal officers (ELOs), one in each court, also report to the ADAG, but with a primary obligation to their court, supporting their Chief Justice, and safeguarding judicial independence.

  • Corporate branches provide critical business support, legal, program, operational, policy and oversight functions.
  • Regions comprise frontline staff and managers who are responsible for delivering critical court services to the public, court participants and the judiciary.
  • ELOs have a dual reporting relationship to the ADAG and to their respective Chief Justice — they act as the liaison between the judicial and executive branches of government.

Justice in partnership: working with the judiciary

The Attorney General (AG) is responsible for the administration of Ontario’s courts.

The Courts of Justice Act (CJA) establishes the framework for Ontario's court structure and articulates statutory responsibilities relating to the administration of the province’s 3 courts:

  • Court of Appeal for Ontario (COA)
  • Ontario Superior Court of Justice (SCJ)
  • Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ)

The AG has Memoranda of Understanding in place with each court to define the administrative, fiscal and operational responsibilities between the government and the judiciary.

Given the judiciary’s central role in the administration of justice, working collaboratively with the courts is essential to CSD’s ability to effectively administer justice and implement modernization initiatives. Several of our collaborative projects are outlined in this report. 

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The COA is the province’s highest court and hears appeals from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (SCJ) and the Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ).

Ontario Superior Court of Justice

The SCJ is one of the busiest trial courts in the world and the largest superior trial court in Canada. It addresses all of Ontario’s civil litigation, most family litigation and the most serious criminal offences.

  • Website: Ontario Superior Court of Justice
  • Chief Justice: Geoffrey Morawetz (now retired; Patrick Boucher appointed in July 2026)
  • Associate Chief Justice: Faye McWatt
  • Senior Family Judge: Suzanne Stevenson

Ontario Court of Justice

The OCJ is the largest provincial court in Canada and is the frontline court for most criminal, all Provincial Offences Act (POA) and some family matters in Ontario.

  • Website: Ontario Court of Justice
  • Chief Justice: Sharon Nicklas
  • Associate Chief Justices: Aston Hall and Jeanine LeRoy
  • Senior Advisory Family Judge: Stacy Neill
  • Senior Associate Justice of the Peace: Melanie Bremner

Court Services Division: by the numbers

In CSD, we oversee a connected justice network of 146 courthouses across 7 regions in Ontario, with 827 courtrooms.

Here’s a snapshot of the services we deliver for Ontarians.

Annually, we:

  • provide support for over 3 million court events
  • intake more than 200,000 criminal, 110,000 civil (including small claims) and 46,000 family matters
  • process over 2.8 million court documents
  • facilitate approximately 40,000 orders for court transcripts
  • provide oversight to 68 municipal partners, who administer Provincial Offences Act courts across Ontario
  •  manage library collections at over 80 judicial libraries across Ontario

In 2025–2026 we:

  • issued over 223,000 jury summonses 
  • coordinated over 69,000 interpreter requests
  • facilitated about 100,000 requests for court audio recordings
  • processed over 42,000 estate probate applications
  • collected about $100 million in court fees