1.1 Open and Accessible Court System

Ontario's court system is based on the fundamental principles of openness and accessibility. In general, most court documents are publicly accessible, unless a statutory provision, common law rule or court order restricts access.

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.

1.2 Judicial Direction

Each court has jurisdiction over its own records, and all policies respecting access to court documents, files and exhibits are subject to judicial direction. However, provisions of statutes and regulations, including rules of practice, providing for access to documents, existing jurisprudence on the subject and consultation with the judiciary have led to the result that, except in the specific circumstances outlined in this guide, many classes of documents can be released to the public. Judicial consent is required to obtain access to court exhibits (see Section 6).

1.3 Timeframes for Public Access

Timeliness is essential to ensure access to court files and documents. The ability of court staff to facilitate timely access can be affected by various factors. Court Services Division Record Retention Schedules outline the requirements for storing files on-site or off-site. Where on-site storage is limited, some files may be transferred off site sooner than set out in the Retention Schedules. By necessity, the time required for access to files and documents that are stored off-site will be longer than for files and documents stored at the courthouse.

In addition, court staff must prioritize their responsibilities to ensure:

• matters scheduled before the court are proceeding;
• the needs of parties, witnesses, interpreters and jurors are met; and
• judicial direction is followed.

Given these priorities, court staff must facilitate access to court files and documents as quickly and efficiently as possible.

1.4 Procedures for Ensuring Public Access

Because a court record may contain documents that are not publicly accessible, court staff must ensure that only publicly accessible documents are provided to members of the public for inspection.

In civil and family matters, Court Services Division requires the use of a correspondence pocket in court files. Documents for which public access is restricted must be filed in the correspondence pocket. Court staff must remove the correspondence pocket from the file before providing the file to a member of the public for inspection. For additional information, please refer to section 3.7 on Other Documents Related to Civil Proceedings.

1.5 Copies

Members of the public can have a copy of any document in the court file, if:

• they have the right to see the document;
• the document can be photocopied; and
• they pay the relevant copy fee.

See section 7.3 for a chart of copy fees in each court.

1.6 Use of Cameras and Recording Devices in the Courtroom

No cameras (including cell phone cameras) or video recording devices are allowed in the courtroom, without the approval of the presiding judicial official (s. 136 of the Courts of Justice Act).

Audio recording devices are generally prohibited, unless used for note-taking purposes by a lawyer, a party acting in person, or a journalist, subject to judicial direction.

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