Ontario. Civil Law Division

• Civil Law Division

The Civil Law Division was established in 1977 within the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General when the civil and criminal responsibilities of the Crown Law Office were divided to form separate divisions. The Civil Law Division was administered by an Assistant Deputy Attorney General and was responsible for the Crown Law Office-Civil and the Constitutional Law Branch. In 1979, three additional branches were added to the division. These included the Official Guardian's Branch, the Public Trustee's Branch and the Common Legal Services Branch (formerly the Common Legal Services Division). In 1988, the Constitutional Law Branch was removed from the Civil Law Division and established as a division of its own; being renamed the Constitutional Law and Policy Division.

Between 1988 and 1997, the administrative structure of the division remained essentially unchanged. In 1997, however, the Civil Law Division was abolished and its branches and functions were divided among the newly created Public Law and Policy Division and the Social Justice Services Division.

The Civil Law Division provided legal representation for the Crown in right of Ontario before all courts in the Province in all areas of civil law. The division was also responsible for providing representation for the Crown before the courts in areas of constitutional law until 1988, when this function was transferred to the Constitutional Law and Policy Division. The Civil Law Division was also responsible for administering the legal services of the government through the supervision and coordination of the Legal Services Branches of the other government Ministries.

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Ministry of the Attorney General Annual Reports, 1977-1992

Ontario Government Telephone Directories, 1977-1996

KWIC Indexes, 1977-1997

Agency not found in Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12-24

Archivist(s):
R. Anger