Ontario. Provincial Court. Criminal Division

Identity area

Type of entity

Higher-level Ontario government office (type B)

Authorized form of name

Ontario. Provincial Court. Criminal Division

Parallel form(s) of name

    Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

    • Criminal Division

    Other form(s) of name

      Identifiers for corporate bodies

      Description area

      Dates of existence

      1968-1989

      History

      The Provincial Court (Criminal Division) was established by statute in 1968, replacing the Magistrates' Courts. The Provincial Courts, consisting of both the Criminal Division and the Family Division, were in large part, created on the recommendations of the Royal Commission Inquiry into Civil Rights, also known as the McRuer Commission.

      Under the new act, each county and district of the province was to have a Provincial Court (Criminal Division) and a Provincial Court (Family Division). Provincial judges were appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the advice of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Each provincial judge had jurisdiction throughout Ontario, as well as all the authority of a magistrate, two justices of the peace sitting together, or a juvenile and family court judge.

      The positions of Chief Judge of the Provincial Court (Criminal Division) and Chief Judge of the Provincial Court (Family Division) were also established by the act. These Chief Judges were responsible for supervising and directing the arrangement of sittings of their respective courts and for the assigning of judges to hearings. In 1977, an Associate Chief Judge was added to each division. In 1989, the criminal and family divisions of the Provincial Court, along with the Provincial Offences Court, were merged to form the Ontario Court of Justice (Provincial Division).

      Places

      Legal status

      Functions, occupations and activities

      The Provincial Court (Criminal Division) has jurisdiction over criminal matters, rendering judgement in cases under the Criminal Code of Canada and other federal statutes.

      Address

      Provincial Courts Act, Statutes of Ontario 1968, Chap. 103

      Internal structures/genealogy

      General context

      Relationships area

      Related entity

      Ontario. Court of Justice (Provincial Division) (1989-)

      Identifier of related entity

      BA59

      Category of relationship

      temporal

      Type of relationship

      Ontario. Court of Justice (Provincial Division) is the successor of Ontario. Provincial Court. Criminal Division

      Dates of relationship

      Description of relationship

      Related entity

      Ontario. Magistrates' Courts (1849-1968)

      Identifier of related entity

      BA52

      Category of relationship

      temporal

      Type of relationship

      Ontario. Magistrates' Courts is the predecessor of Ontario. Provincial Court. Criminal Division

      Dates of relationship

      Description of relationship

      Access points area

      Subject access points

      Place access points

      Epithet

      Control area

      Authority record identifier

      BA53

      Institution identifier

      Rules and/or conventions used

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

      Status

      Approved

      Level of detail

      Dates of creation, revision and deletion

      2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

      Language(s)

        Script(s)

          Sources

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

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

          Ministry of the Attorney General. Civil Justice Review 1995.

          Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12-24

          Maintenance notes

          Archivist(s):
          R. Anger