Publications

The below publications pertain to the following issues and areas of the Court:

Accessibility

Weiler Report: Making Ontario’s Courts Fully Accessible to Persons with Disabilities (2006)

In 2005, the Honourable R. Roy McMurtry, Chief Justice of Ontario, appointed an advisory committee drawn from each level of Ontario’s courts, from the practicing legal profession, and from the Ontario Government to develop recommendations to make Ontario’s court system more accessible for persons with mental, physical or sensory disabilities. This report is the product of the committee’s work.

Civil

Report of the Task Force on Discovery Process (2003)

This Report completes the review conducted by the Task Force on the Discovery Process in Ontario. The Task Force considered all aspects of the Discovery Process, identified problems, and made recommendations for reform.

Superior Court of Justice Civil Review Project ReportPDF (2014)

The Civil Review Project was established in September 2013 to make recommendations reducing wait times on the civil list in Toronto.  The Project`s Report provides initial recommendations for civil long motions and canvasses long-term solutions to reduce unacceptable delays in the litigation process.

Criminal

New Approaches to Criminal Trials: Report of the Chief Justice’s Advisory Committee on Criminal Trials in the Superior Court of Justice (2006)

In 2005, Chief Justice Heather Smith of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice established an advisory committee on criminal trials. The role of the committee was to identify areas in which criminal proceedings in the Superior Court could be made more efficient. This report details the committee’s findings and recommendations.

Family

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.

A Guide to Process for Family Cases at the Superior Court of Justice (2023) PDF

In 2016, the Superior Court of Justice developed a guide that provides information to litigants about each step in a family case. This guide was updated in October 2023.

Divisional Court

Guide to Judicial Review in Divisional Court (2019)

The Guide to Judicial Review in Divisional Court answers questions such as, what is judicial review, what kind of decisions can be reviewed, what should be included in an application for judicial review, and what to expect at a judicial review hearing in Divisional Court.