COUNCIL COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

The Canadian Judicial Council has authority over federally appointed judges. The procedure for making a complaint about a federally appointed judge is described below. Individual provincial and territorial judicial councils have responsibility for provincially appointed judges in provincial courts.

When someone believes that a federally appointed judge’s conduct falls short of our expectations and is of serious concern, the justice system provides a procedure (through the Canadian Judicial Council) for receiving complaints. The procedure for making a complaint about a judge’s conduct (not a judge’s decision in a court case) is described in the Expected Conduct of Judges section of this website.

The Council’s internal guidelines for receiving and reviewing complaints about a judge’s conduct are set out in the Council’s complaints procedures. These procedures establish rules about opening complaint files, requesting comments from the judge in question, and other administrative issues.