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The following guide is the Ministry of the Attorney General's Court Services Division Policies and Procedures on Public Access to Court Files, Documents and Exhibits. The guide is being posted on the Ministry's website in order to enhance public access to court proceedings, information and documents. This guide was first compiled and provided to Ministry court staff in January 2006 as part of the Ministry's ongoing efforts to ensure that there is consistent application of these procedures across the province. Policies regarding access to court files, documents and exhibits are periodically reviewed and updated, subject to the direction of the judiciary. For example the ministry recently instituted a policy to waive copy fees for informations, indictments and judicial interim release documents for accused and/or their counsel. The ministry is also reviewing the policies governing access to records of a proceeding subject to a s. 486.4 publication ban, documents under the Mental Health Act, and those related to a peace bond under s. 810 of the Criminal Code, proceedings against a young person under Part IV of the POA and exhibits, in consultation with the courts.

The material provided here is the same as the material on public access to court documents provided to court staff. In some instances terms or language may be technical. A glossary of legal terms in this document is available on the ministry website at ontario.ca/legalterms.

As noted in the document, "The court has a supervisory and protecting power over its records, and as a result, determines rules for public access. The Court Services Division of the Ministry of the Attorney General is responsible for the care and maintenance of court files and documents, with the exception of court files and documents in Provincial Offences courts, which are administered by municipal partners under a transfer agreement. The Court Services Division makes policies regarding the care and maintenance of court files and documents, in accordance with applicable law, and subject to judicial direction."

Contents

• Section 1: General Principles and Policies for Public Access
  • 1.1 Open and Accessible Court System
  • 1.2 Judicial Direction
  • 1.3 Timeframes for Public Access
  • 1.4 Procedures for Ensuring Public Access
  • 1.5 Copies
  • 1.6 Use of Cameras and Recording Devices in the Courtroom
• Section 2: Public Access to Criminal Court Files and Documents
  • 2.1 General Principle of Public Accessibility
  • 2.2 Criminal Court Files and Documents with Restricted Access
    • 2.2.1. Documents in Youth Criminal Justice Act Proceedings
    • 2.2.2. Pre-Enquête Documents and Recordings
    • 2.2.3. Documents Relating to a Peace Bond Application
    • 2.2.4. Warrants
    • 2.2.5. Production Orders
    • 2.2.6. Court Files and Documents under Section 486.4 and 486.5 Publication Bans
    • 2.2.7. In Camera / Publicly-Excluded Proceedings
    • 2.2.8. Court Files and Documents in Section 276.1 and 278.2 Applications
    • 2.2.9. Documents Dealing with the Mental Health of the Accused
    • 2.2.10. Sealed Files and Documents
    • 2.2.11. Documents Relating to Absolute and Conditional Discharges
    • 2.2.12. Documents Relating to a Pardon
  • 2.3 Index Books
  • 2.4 Dockets and Case Event Lists
    • 2.4.1. Pre-Court Docket and Case Event List
    • 2.4.2. Post-Court Docket and Case Event List
  • 2.5 Provincial Offences Act Court Documents
  • 2.6 Providing Information Over the Telephone
  • 2.7 Information on Criminal Records
• Section 3: Public Access to Civil Court Files and Documents
  • 3.1 Courts of Justice Act Provisions for Public Access
  • 3.2 Statutory Restrictions to Public Access
    • 3.2.1. Documents Regarding Parental Responsibility Act Matters
  • 3.3 Files and Documents Under Publication Bans
  • 3.4 Sealed Files and Documents
  • 3.5 Index Books
  • 3.6 Case Event Lists and Post-Court Dockets
  • 3.7 Other Documents Related to Civil Proceedings
  • 3.8 Providing Information Over the Telephone
• Section 4: Public Access to Family Court Files
  • 4.1 Courts of Justice Act Provisions for Public Access
  • 4.2 Statutory Restrictions to Public Access
    • 4.2.1. Child Protection Cases
    • 4.2.2. Secure Treatment Cases
    • 4.2.3. Adoption Cases and Openness Orders
    • 4.2.4. Proceedings under the Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996
  • 4.3 Files and Documents Under Publication Bans
  • 4.4 Sealed Files and Documents
  • 4.5 Index Books
  • 4.6 Case Event Lists and Post-Court Dockets
  • 4.7 Other Documents Related to Family Cases
  • 4.8 Providing Information Over the Telephone
• Section 5: Public Access to Enforcement Files
  • 5.1 Documents in the Enforcement File Covered by Section 137 of the Courts of Justice Act
  • 5.2 Other Documents in the Enforcement File
• Section 6: Public Access to Exhibits
  • 6.1 Exhibits in Criminal Cases
  • 6.2 Exhibits in Civil and Family Cases
    • 6.2.1. Exhibits Filed in a Proceeding
    • 6.2.2. Exhibits Referred to in an Affidavit
    • 6.2.3. Exhibits Entered into Evidence During Trial
    • 6.2.4. Copies of Exhibits in Exhibit Books
• Section 7: Fees for Public Access to Court Documents
  • 7.1 Fees to Access Criminal Court Documents
    • 7.1.1 Ontario Court of Justice and Superior Court of Justice
  • 7.2 Fees to Access Civil and Family Court Documents and Enforcement Documents
    • 7.2.1. Ontario Court of Justice
    • 7.2.2. Superior Court of Justice
  • 7.3 Copy Fees
    • 7.3.1. Fees for Copies of Endorsements
  • 7.4 Fee Waiver

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