The Ontario and Federal Court System Supreme Court

The Ontario and Federal Court System

Supreme Court of Canada n n n Senior court in the land Final Appeal court for all civil and criminal cases Hears appeals from the Federal and Provincial courts Addresses constitutional issues referred by the Federal Government Able to be selective about the cases it hears (concentrates on issues of national importance)

Federal Court System n Deals with income tax, patents, customs cases and immigration

Court of Ontario n Supreme Court of Justice Has jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions of indictable offences n Has jurisdiction over criminal prosecution involving young persons n

Court of Ontario n Divisional Court n Review decisions of administrative boards, tribunals, and public servants

Court of Ontario n Court of Appeal n Hears requests to change or overturn decisions made by lower courts

n Small Claims Court n n Settle claims up to $10, 000 Criminal Law Deals with people charged in 96% of criminal offences n Deals with minor offences in provincial law n Deals with youths charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act n

n Family Court n n Deals with family matters (child custody, divorce, etc) Justice of the Peace Deals with bail hearings n Has jurisdiction over prosecutions of provincial offences n

Protecting Our Rights 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty Courts operate in public which allows the citizen to see that it works fairly A person can not be charged if the law was not in place when their actions took place No one can be forced to testify at their own trial All accused have a right to a lawyer even if they can’t afford one.