Overview

Ontario has 3 main courts that serve different roles in the justice system. Each court hears specific types of cases and they have separate leadership and appointment processes.

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court of Appeal for Ontario is the highest court in Ontario. It hears most appeals from decisions made by the Superior Court of Justice and some appeals from decisions made by the Ontario Court of Justice. It deals with appeals from all types of court proceedings:

  • civil
  • criminal
  • family
  • provincial offences
  • administrative law

The Chief Justice of Ontario leads the Court of Appeal. Judges of this court are appointed by the federal government. The names of all judges on the Court of Appeal are listed on the court’s website.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario primarily sits in Toronto at Osgoode Hall. It also conducts inmate appeals in Kingston.

Ontario Superior Court of Justice

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice is responsible for hearing:

  • some criminal prosecutions, including all prosecutions before a jury
  • all civil court cases
  • many family law cases, including all cases that involve divorce and property division

It also hears appeals from some administrative tribunals and certain appeals in civil, family and provincial offences matters.

Various types of judicial officers hear cases in this court. Judges of the Superior Court of Justice are federally appointed and can hear any type of case. Associate judges are provincially appointed and preside over certain types of hearings in civil and family cases.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice includes several specialized sub-sections known as branches.

Divisional Court branch

The Divisional Court branch hears most applications for judicial reviews and many appeals from administrative tribunals. It also hears certain appeals from decisions made in civil and family proceedings.

Small Claims Court branch

The Small Claims Court branch hears almost all civil claims (lawsuits) for money or personal property with a value of $50,000 or less.

Deputy judges hear almost all Small Claims Court cases. They are senior lawyers appointed by a Regional Senior Judge, with the Attorney General’s approval.

The Small Claims Court Administrative Judge is provincially appointed and advises the Executive of the Superior Court of Justice on Small Claims Court scheduling, assignment, policy and administration.

Family Court branch

The Family Court branch (sometimes called the Unified Family Court or UFC) which operates in 25 locations across the province, hears all family law matters in these locations. In locations without a Family Court Branch, the family matters are heard either by the Superior Court of Justice or the Ontario Court of Justice depending on the nature of the case.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice, including the specialized branches, has locations across Ontario.

Ontario Court of Justice

The Ontario Court of Justice is responsible for hearing:

  • most criminal prosecutions
  • many family law matters (excluding cases involving divorce and property division) in non-Unified Family Court locations
  • provincial offence cases
  • some appeals from provincial offence decisions

This court is led by the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice and proceedings in this court are heard by either judges or justices of the peace. Judges of the Ontario Court of Justice and justices of the peace are all provincially appointed.

Court locations

The Ontario Court of Justice has locations in communities throughout Ontario.

Some Ontario Court of Justice locations are operated by municipalities and are sometimes called municipal courts. These court locations are also sometimes called Provincial Offences Courts because they deal with most provincial regulatory offences, as well as federal and municipal regulatory offences. Visit the municipal Provincial Offences Court contact page for more information. Cases in these court locations are heard by justices of the peace.