Ontario. Court Services Division

• Court Services Division

• Ontario. Administration of Justice Division

• Ontario. Courts Administration Program

• Ontario. Courts Administration Division

The Court Services Division was established as the Administration of Justice Division in 1964 within the Ontario Department of the Attorney General, replacing the Office of the Inspector of Legal Offices. The position of Inspector of Legal Offices itself, however, continued to exist as the administrative head of the Division and was given Assistant Deputy Attorney General status.

The name of the Division was changed to the Courts Administration Program in 1976. In 1978, the administration of the Program was slightly altered. At the head of the Program was the Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Director of Courts Administration, while the Inspector of Legal Services became the Deputy Director of Courts Administration. By 1986, the position of Deputy Director was abolished and the functions of the Inspector of Legal Offices were continued by the Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Director of Courts Administration.

From the 1960s to the mid 1980s, a centralised system of courts administration was in place. A Branch was established for each of the major types of court operating in the province with responsibility for the general administrative efficiency of each. These branches included the Supreme and District Court Services Branch, the Small Claims Court Services Branch, and the Provincial Court Services Branch.

Since 1989, when the court system of the province was reorganized, the administration of the courts has been managed on a regional basis, except for the Court of Appeal which continues to be a centrally managed court based in Toronto. With the changes, eight judicial districts were created, each of which is headed by a Regional Senior Judge in the Ontario Court (Provincial Division) and Regional Senior Justice in the Ontario Court (General Division). The Chief Judge of the Ontario Court (Provincial Division) holds overall administrative jurisdiction over these officers of the Court. Through this regionalized structure, and as of 1995, the Division manages more than 235 court offices which act as the link between litigants, counsel, police, judiciary, the Crown, the public and other agencies.

In 1998, the name of the Courts Administration Program was changed to Courts Administration Division, and in 2000 it was changed again to Court Services Division.

The Court Services Division is responsible for managing the various civil and criminal courts in Ontario. Duties involved in carrying this out include: (1) the supervision of administrative services to the various courts and detention homes (2) the regulation of appointments of commissioners for taking affidavits, notaries public and justices of the peace; (3) the provision of court reporter services, translation and interpretative services; (4) the arrangement of court accommodations; (5) monitoring and enforcing support and custody orders issued through the Family Support Plan; and (6) the maintenance of contacts between the Ministry and the Judiciary, and the processing of judiciary appointments to the provincial courts. In addition, the division provides centralized program development and business planning.

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

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Annual Reports of the Ministry of the Attorney General, 1974-1992

Ontario Government Telephone Directories, 1968-2001

KWIC Indexes, 1977-1999

Directory and Guide to Ontario Government Services, 1964-1967

Agency not found in Canadiana Name Authorities, 2004-July-19

Archivist(s):
R. Anger