The Justices of the Peace Act lists the responsibilities of the Justices of the Peace Review Council. The Review Council’s responsibilities all relate to justices of the peace of the Ontario Court of Justice.

The Review Council’s responsibilities are:

• To receive and investigate complaints about the conduct of justices of the peace.
• To decide how to dispose of complaints about justices of the peace.
• To hold hearings into complaints about the conduct of justices of the peace. The Review Council only holds a hearing into a complaint if a complaints committee has ordered a hearing.
• To review and approve standards of conduct for justices of the peace.
• To consider and approve plans for the continuing education of justices of the peace.
• To consider applications from justices of the peace for accommodations for their disabilities in the workplace.
• To consider applications from justices of the peace to engage in extra-remunerative work.

The Review Council’s main role is to consider complaints about justices of the peace of the Ontario Court of Justice. The complaints process has two main goals. The first goal is to preserve the integrity of, and public confidence in, the judiciary. The second goal is to restore public confidence when a justice of the peace engages in misconduct. The goal of the complaints process is not to punish a justice of the peace for misconduct.

The Review Council can only consider complaints about poor behaviour by justices of the peace. Poor behaviour can take place in or outside the courtroom. Examples of poor behaviour include:

• using racist, sexist or offensive language
• acting rudely or aggressively or losing their temper
• showing a lack of civility or respect
• bullying or harassment of court staff or litigants
• using their status as a justice of the peace for private gain or to influence others
• excessively delaying making a judgment or order

The Review Council cannot consider whether a justice of the peace made the right decision in a case. The Review Council cannot consider complaints about:

• mistakes in a justice of the peace’s decision or order
• errors of law or procedure
• how long a justice of the peace let each side speak
• what a justice of the peace let a witness say in court
• a justice of the peace accepting or rejecting documents
• a justice of the peace accepting a witness’s evidence
• a justice of the peace rejecting a witness’s evidence
• the sentence imposed by a justice of the peace

The Review Council cannot change a decision made by a justice of the peace. The Council cannot order that a justice of the peace not hear a specific case.

If you disagree with a justice of the peace’s decision and want the decision changed, you may want to appeal or review the decision. For more information on how to appeal or review a court decision, please see What if I disagree with a justice of the peace’s decision?

For more information about making a complaint to the Review Council, please see Complaints.

The members of the Review Council are judges, justices of the peace, a licensee of the Law Society of Ontario, and community members. Our judge and justice of the peace members understand the judicial role. Our Law Society member represents the perspectives of the legal community. Our community members represent the perspectives of the public. Together, they work to preserve public confidence in the judiciary.

Our members are:

• the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (or designate from the Ontario Court of Justice)
• the Associate Chief Justice Co-ordinator of Justices of the Peace
• two judges of the Ontario Court of Justice
• one regional senior justice of the peace of the Ontario Court of Justice
• three justices of the peace of the Ontario Court of Justice
• a licensee of the Law Society of Ontario
• four community representatives

The Lieutenant Governor in Council chooses the four community representatives, on the recommendation of the Attorney General. In choosing the community representatives, they must recognize the diversity of the population. They also must recognize that people in Ontario speak both French and English. They must also recognize the need for gender balance on the Review Council.

Membership of the Review Council changes often. You can find a list of our members in our Annual Reports.