Ontario. Court of Chancery

• Court of Chancery

• Upper Canada. Court of Chancery

• Canada (Province). Court of Chancery

A Court of Chancery for the Province was established in 1837. The head of the court, the Chancellor, was to be the "Governor, Lieutenant Governor or Person Administering the Government of the Province". However, the judicial powers of the Court were to be exercised by a judge, appointed by the crown, and to be known as the Vice-Chancellor. The Vice- Chancellor was in turn, to be a member of the Court of the Governor and Executive Council, ie. the Court of Appeal. Appeals of judgements issued by the Court of Chancery could be made to the Governor and Executive Council, with a further appeal possible to the King in Council, in certain cases.

In 1849, two additional judges were added to the Court of Chancery, bringing the total to three. These three judges, along with the three judges of the Court of Queen's Bench and the three judges of the Court of Common Pleas, together constituted the newly established Court of Error and Appeals.

In 1881, the Ontario Judicature Act was passed which merged together the Courts of Appeal, Queen's Bench, Chancery, and Common Pleas to form the Supreme Court of Judicature for Ontario. This new Supreme Court was in turn, organized into two branches - the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Justice. The functions of the Court of Chancery were transferred to the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice.

The Court of Chancery had equitable jurisdiction in cases such as fraud, accidents, trusts, executors and administrators, the partition of estates, mortgages, dower, alimony, and infants and mentally-incompetent persons and their estates.

An Act to establish a Court of Chancery in the Province, Statutes of Upper Canada 1837, Chap. 2

An Act for the more effectual Administration of Justice in the Court of Chancery of the late Province of Upper Canada, Statutes of the Province of Canada 1849, Chap. 64

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

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Banks, Margaret A. Evolution of the Ontario Courts, 1788-1981 (1983)

Zuber. The Honourable T.G. Report of the Ontario Courts Inquiry (1987)

Canadiana name Authorities, 1996-12-24

Archivist(s):
R. Anger