{"id":71,"date":"2019-01-11T16:43:17","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T21:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ontariocourts.ca\/coa\/?page_id=71"},"modified":"2025-07-13T20:41:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T00:41:45","slug":"about-the-court","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariocourts.ca\/coa\/about-the-court\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Court of Appeal for Ontario is the highest level of court in Ontario and hears appeals from the Superior Court of Justice<\/a> and the Ontario Court of Justice<\/a>. The\u202fChief Justice of Ontario<\/a>, the\u202fAssociate Chief Justice of Ontario<\/a>, and approximately 30 other judges<\/a> sit on the Court of Appeal.<\/p>\n

All appeals at the Court of Appeal are heard by panels of judges. Almost all appeals are heard by panels of three judges, but some appeals are heard by panels of five judges..<\/p>\n

Fewer than two per cent of the court\u2019s decisions are heard by the Supreme Court of Canada<\/a>, so the Court of Appeal is effectively the last avenue of appeal for most litigants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Court typically hears more than 1000 appeals and more than 1000 motions each year in most areas of law including appeals from both civil and criminal proceedings.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Civil appeals include commercial disputes, property disputes, negligence claims, family disputes, and judicial review of administrative decisions. Constitutional law disputes including the division of powers between the federal and provincial government are also determined by the Court, along with claims under the <\/span>Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms<\/em><\/span><\/a>\u202f and Aboriginal rights claims.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Criminal law matters include appeals from convictions, acquittals, and the fitness of sentences under the<\/span> Criminal Code<\/span><\/em><\/a>, the <\/span>Youth Criminal Justice Act<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u202f and other federal criminal legislation, and the Court is often required to make decisions concerning the constitutional rights of individuals charged with offences. The Court also hears appeals from the Ontario Review Board, which makes decisions concerning people who were found not criminally responsible for criminal offences on account of a mental disorder.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Court also deals with appeals from convictions and acquittals under regulatory legislation governed by the\u202f <\/span>Provincial Offences Act<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u202f including highway traffic <\/span>matters, environmental protection, residential tenancy, and workplace health and safety laws.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Court is located at Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto in a beautiful building designated as a national historic site. Built in 1829, at least 10 expansions, renovations or restorations have taken place since then, the most recent being a 10-year project that has restored the building to its original grandeur and upgraded its infrastructure so that Osgoode Hall will continue to function as a working courthouse well into the future.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Atrium<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Court of Appeal for Ontario is located in historic Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto. The Court is composed of the Chief Justice of Ontario, the Associate Chief Justice of Ontario and 31 other judges including regular and supernumerary judges. The court hears over 1000 appeals and over 1000 motions each year. Appeals are heard by panels of three or sometimes five judges. Motions are usually heard by one judge but up to 25% of the motions heard in any year are dealt with by panels of three judges. The court\u2019s jurisdiction includes that consideration of both civil and criminal appeals from decisions of Ontario’s two trial courts, the Superior Court of Justice and Ontario Court of Justice.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page-template.php","meta":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nAbout the Court - Court of Appeal for Ontario<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariocourts.ca\/coa\/about-the-court\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About the Court - Court of Appeal for Ontario\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Court of Appeal for Ontario is located in historic Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto. 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