Canadian Judicial Council to Conduct an Inquiry at the Request of the Attorney General of Ontario

Ottawa, 27 April 2004 - The Canadian Judicial Council announced today that there will be an inquiry into the conduct of Mr Justice Paul Cosgrove, after receiving a request on Friday, April 23 rd , from The Honourable Michael J. Bryant, Attorney General of Ontario. In his letter, Mr Bryant asks the Council to investigate the conduct of Justice Cosgrove during the trial over which he presided in the case of R.  v.  Julia Yvonne Elliott.

Whenever a complaint is received by the Canadian Judicial Council, it is promptly reviewed and acted upon. In this case, the request comes from an Attorney General and, in accordance with the provisions of the Judges Act , the Council has an obligation to designate an Inquiry Committee to investigate the matter.

Judicial members of the Inquiry Committee will be appointed shortly, in accordance with Council By-laws. The Minister of Justice of Canada can also appoint members to the Committee. Once the Inquiry Committee is established, it will investigate the details of the Attorney General's request. Hearings of the Committee are normally held in public. After concluding its inquiry, the Committee will report its findings to the Canadian Judicial Council. The Council is then expected to make recommendations to the Minister of Justice on the matter.

Formal referrals by an Attorney General are very infrequent. Attached is background information on the complaints and inquiry processes.

The Canadian Judicial Council is composed of the chief justices and associate chief justices of Canada's superior courts. Information about the Council is available at http://www.cjc-ccm.gc.ca

Contact

Norman Sabourin
Executive Director and General Counsel 
(613) 949-2246 
nsabourin@judicom.gc.ca

Background Information - Complaints and Inquiries

When someone believes that a judge's personal conduct (on or off the bench) is in question, a complaint may be made to the Canadian Judicial Council. The Council examines only issues of conduct and does not review a judges's decisions in law.

The complaints process is simple: the complaint must be in writing, and it must concern the conduct of a federally appointed judge. No special forms are necessary. No legal counsel is required. No fees are charged. A simple letter is enough. To the extent possible, the Council reviews anonymous complaints in the same way as complaints that are signed. In recent years, the Council has received about 165 complaints a year.

When a complaint is made, the question before the Council is ultimately whether or not a judge's conduct prevents that judge from discharging the duties of the office. In such a case, the Council must decide whether or not to recommend that a judge be removed from office. The Council treats complaints very seriously and as expeditiously as possible. Over 66% of complaints are completed within three months; over 94% are completed within six months.

A complaint is first reviewed by a member of the Judicial Conduct Committee. A complaint can be dismissed when it is clearly frivolous or does not fall within the mandate of the Council. In roughly half of cases, the complaint is studied in more detail and the judge in question, as well as judge's chief justice, are sent a copy of the complaint and asked for their comments. The complaint is often resolved at this stage, with an appropriate letter of explanation to the complainant.

If the complaint cannot be resolved at that stage, the file can be referred to a Panel of up to five members of Council for further review. In the past 10 years, 48 complaint files have been referred to a Panel. When a Panel concludes that the complaint has merit but is not serious enough to move to the next stage (a formal hearing by an Inquiry Committee) then the Panel may close the file with an expression of concern, or may recommend counselling or other remedial measures.

When the complaint may be serious enough to warrant the judge's removal, the Panel can recommend that the Council establish an Inquiry Committee. Since its inception in 1971, the Council has referred six complaint files for this type of formal investigation.

An Inquiry Committee is also established whenever the Council receives a request from the Minister of Justice or from the Attorney General of any province or territory. Since 1971, six such formal inquiries have been established, including the most recent, from the Attorney General of Ontario, concerning Mr. Justice Paul Cosgrove.

After completing its investigation, an Inquiry Committee reports its findings to the Canadian Judicial Council. The Council then decides whether or not to recommend to the Minister of Justice of Canada that the judge be removed from office. In accordance with the provisions of Canada's Constitution, a judge may be removed from office only after a joint address by Parliament.