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Judges - Justices of the Peace. Ling v. Justices of the Peace Review Council
In Ling v. Justices of the Peace Review Council (Div Ct, 2021) the Divisional Court reviewed basics of the role of a Complaint Committee under the Justices of the Peace Act:[14] A Complaints Committee is not, in the first instance, directed to conduct a hearing. Rather it undertakes an investigation, as it considers appropriate (see Justices of the Peace Act, s. 11(7)). When its investigation is complete, the Complaints Committee must dispose of the complaint by:(a) dismissing the complaint if it is frivolous, an abuse of process or outside the jurisdiction of the Complaints Committee;
b) inviting the justice of the peace to attend before the Complaints Committee to receive advice concerning the issues raised in the complaint or send the justice of the peace a letter of advice concerning the issues raised in the complaint, or both;
c) ordering that a formal hearing into the complaint be held by a hearing panel; or
d) referring the complaint to the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice. (See Justices of the Peace Act, s. 10(1), which authorizes the Justices of the Peace Review Council to establish rules of procedure for complaints committees and hearing panels and the Rules of Procedure promulgated thereunder at p. 27, s. 7.1)
[15] To be clear, and for the assistance of Mr. Ling, we repeat that the jurisdiction of the Justices of the Peace Review Council is limited to the investigation and review of complaints about the conduct of a justice of the peace. It does not have the authority to consider complaints about the exercise of judicial discretion, including how a justice of the peace applies the law or assesses the evidence. It does not have the authority to change or overturn a judicial decision.
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