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About Criminal Proceedings
The Superior Court of Justice is a superior court of criminal jurisdiction. The court has the power to try any indictable offence under the Criminal Code of Canada; however, the Superior Court generally only tries the most serious criminal offences. These include murder, manslaughter, drug trafficking, and other offences against the security of the state, or an attempt or conspiracy to commit one of these offences. An individual accused of any of these offences is tried by a judge of the Superior Court, sitting either with or without a jury.
Criminal proceedings in the Superior Court are governed by the Criminal Code of Canada and the Criminal Proceedings Rules.
The Superior Court also hears appeals from summary conviction cases heard in the Ontario Court of Justice. New Criminal Proceeding Rules for summary conviction appeals came into effect on March 1, 2012, and require all parties to comply with new timelines to ensure the timely resolution of summary conviction appeals.
To locate a court in your area, please see the List of Ontario Court Addresses on the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website.