Guiding Documents

Memorandum of Understanding (2008)
In May 2008, the Chief Justice and the Attorney General entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote clarity, consistency, and accountability in the administration of the courts, and to support the principle of judicial independence.

Callaghan Scheduling Convention (1992)
The Judicial Scheduling Conventions for the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division) (now the Superior Court of Justice) were established by the Honourable F.W. Callaghan, Chief Justice of the Ontario Court, in October, 1992.

Family Law Strategic Plan (2008)
In 2008, the Superior Court of Justice developed the Family Law Strategic Plan as a framework to improve family court proceedings. The Strategic Plan sets out guiding principles and achievable goals to ensure meaningful access to justice for family law litigants at all Superior Court sites in Ontario, in accordance with the two key guiding principles of accessibility and effectiveness.

Prioritizing Children Initiative (2012)
In 2012, the Court launched the Child Prioritization Initiative, which builds on the Superior Court’s Family Law Strategic Plan by outlining specific goals and targeted approaches to ensure children in conflict and children-at-risk are given “top priority” in family court proceedings.

Workplace Conflict and Harassment Prevention (2019)

The Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) (SCJ) has implemented an initiative to address issues of workplace conflict and harassment prevention. The SCJ takes workplace conflict issues seriously and is committed to a respectful, productive environment and to the prevention of harassment and workplace conflict for both the judiciary and those with whom they work. The SCJ’s Statement of Commitment Regarding Workplace Conflict and Harassment Prevention, establishes an informal process, to address issues early, to be preventative and to raise awareness.  The Statement of Commitment provides a process by which members of the Ontario Public Service (OPS) can raise and resolve issues of workplace conflict regarding SCJ judges and judicial officials. Nothing in the process circumvents any formal processes that are currently available. The process will deal with matters that are amenable to an informal, voluntary resolution process and do not require a formal process.