The Courts of Justice Act lists the responsibilities of the Ontario Judicial Council. The Council’s responsibilities all relate to judges of the Ontario Court of Justice.

The Council’s responsibilities are:

• To receive and investigate complaints about the conduct of judges.
• To decide how to dispose of complaints about judges.
• To hold hearings into complaints about the conduct of judges. The Council only holds a hearing into a complaint if a review panel has ordered a hearing.
• To review and approve standards of conduct for judges.
• To consider and approve plans for the ongoing education of judges.
• To consider applications from judges for accommodations for their disabilities in the workplace.
• To consider requests by the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice or the Associate Chief Justices to continue in office beyond 65 years of age.

The Judicial Council’s main role is to consider complaints about judges 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 judge engages in misconduct. The goal of the complaint process is not to punish a judge for misconduct.

The Council can only consider complaints about poor behaviour by judges. 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 judge for private gain or to influence others
• excessively delaying making a judgment or order

The Council cannot consider whether a judge made the right decision in a case. The Council cannot consider complaints about:

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

The Council cannot change a decision made by a judge. The Council cannot order that a judge not hear a specific case.

If you disagree with a judge’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 judge’s decision?

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

The members of the Ontario Judicial Council are judges, lawyers, and community members. Our judge members understand the judicial role. Our lawyer members represent 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 Ontario (or designate from the Court of Appeal)
• the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (or designate from the Ontario Court of Justice)
• the Associate Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice
• a Regional Senior Judge of the Ontario Court of Justice.
• two judges of the Ontario Court of Justice.
• the Treasurer of Law Society of Ontario (or another lawyer bencher of the Law Society, designated by the Treasurer)
• a lawyer who is not a bencher of Law Society of Ontario.
• four people, who are not judges or lawyers.

The Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice, the Law Society, and the Lieutenant Governor in Council choose some of the Council’s members. When they choose new members, 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 Council.

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