Simon's Legal Resources

Courts - An Overview of Ontario's Court System

Understanding the Ontario Court system can be confusing, especially when you try to follow it online.

Legally (under the Courts of Justice Act), it consists of the Ontario Court of Appeal (CA), and the 'Ontario Court' (a notional court only). Practically the Ontario Court is made up of two actual courts: the Superior Court (SCJ) and the Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ). Note that while all three of these court websites have the same root directory (ontariocourts.ca), they have different visual designs and are maintained separately.

The CA is a free-standing constitutional court, the highest court in Ontario. The SCJ is also a constitutional court, with civil and criminal jurisdiction - and consists of itself (the 'main' court in Ontario), and these additional branches:

. Divisional Court
. Family Court
. Small Claims Court.

Finally, the OCJ - though a single court - has jurisdiction over the bulk of family, criminal and provincial offences in Ontario. The OCJ is the busiest court in all of Canada. Note that while the OCJ shares jurisdiction over both family and criminal law with the SCJ, the OCJ has no civil jurisdiction.

Thus civil jurisdiction (the main topic of this website) is spread over the Superior Court, and the Small Claims Court at the trial level, the Divisional Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal at the appellate level.