Judicial Councils — Federal & Provincial Registry
Statutory bodies that administer judicial conduct review and judicial education in Canada. The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) covers federally appointed judges (superior courts, Federal Court, Tax Court). Each province and territory operates its own council for provincially appointed judges. This page lists only the institutions and their statutory and process-level URLs. Per M21, no claims are made about specific judges, open complaints, or pending review files.
last verified — 2026-04-27 (institutional & process layer only)
Federal judiciary administration
| Body | Role | Governing statute | Primary source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) | Statutory council of the chief justices and associate chief justices of Canada's superior courts. Administers the conduct-review process for federally appointed judges; promulgates ethical principles for judges. | Judges Act, RSC 1985, c. J-1, ss. 59–71 (as amended by SC 2023, c. 19) | cjc-ccm.ca |
| Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (FJA) | Federal department supporting the independence of the federally appointed judiciary; administers judicial appointments process, judges' compensation and benefits, language training, and the international programs. | Judges Act, RSC 1985, c. J-1, ss. 73–78 | fja-cmf.gc.ca |
| National Judicial Institute (NJI) | Independent non-profit established by the CJC and the Canadian Bar Association; designs and delivers continuing judicial education for federally and provincially appointed judges. | Federal not-for-profit corporation; mandate set by founding members (CJC, CBA) | nji-inm.ca |
| Canadian Council of Chief Judges (CCCJ) | Council of the chief judges of Canada's provincial and territorial courts. Coordinates inter-jurisdictional issues affecting provincially appointed judges; not a conduct-review body. | Voluntary association; no enabling statute | ccm-cccj.ca |
| Independent Judicial Advisory Committees (JACs) | Federal advisory committees, one per province/region, that screen candidates for federally appointed judicial positions and recommend to the Minister of Justice. Administered by the FJA. | Established by Order in Council; administered under Judges Act, ss.73–78 | fja-cmf.gc.ca / committees |
CJC process layer (no case data)
| Process | What it does | Process URL |
|---|---|---|
| Judicial Conduct Review Procedures | Statutory complaint-handling process under the 2023 amendments to the Judges Act: screening, review panel, hearing panel, reduced or full panel, appeal panel. | cjc-ccm.ca / judicial-conduct |
| Ethical Principles for Judges | The published ethical guidance promulgated by the CJC for federally appointed judges. Updated 2021. | cjc-ccm.ca / judicial-ethics |
| How to file a complaint | Public process page describing what may be complained about, the form, and what is excluded (judicial decisions are not reviewable through the conduct process; appeal is the remedy). | cjc-ccm.ca / file-complaint |
Provincial & territorial judicial councils
| Council | Jurisdiction | Governing statute | Primary source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judicial Council of British Columbia | British Columbia | Provincial Court Act, RSBC 1996, c. 379, ss. 21–25 | provincialcourt.bc.ca / judicial-council |
| Alberta Judicial Council | Alberta | Judicature Act, RSA 2000, c. J-2, ss. 32–39 | albertacourts.ca / judicial-council |
| Judicial Council of Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan | Provincial Court Act, 1998, SS 1998, c. P-30.11, ss. 60–72 | sasklawcourts.ca / judicial-council |
| Judicial Council of Manitoba | Manitoba | Provincial Court Act, CCSM c. C275, ss. 28–39.5 | manitobacourts.mb.ca / judicial-council |
| Ontario Judicial Council | Ontario | Courts of Justice Act, RSO 1990, c. C.43, ss. 49–51.13 | ontariocourts.ca / ojc |
| Conseil de la magistrature du Québec | Québec | Loi sur les tribunaux judiciaires, RLRQ c. T-16, art. 247 et seq. | conseildelamagistrature.qc.ca |
| Judicial Council of New Brunswick | New Brunswick | Provincial Court Act, RSNB 1973, c. P-21, ss. 6.1–6.11 | courtsnb-coursnb.ca / provincial |
| Nova Scotia Judicial Council | Nova Scotia | Provincial Court Act, RSNS 1989, c. 238, ss. 16–26 | courts.ns.ca / NSPC_judicial_council |
| Judicial Council of Prince Edward Island | Prince Edward Island | Provincial Court Act, RSPEI 1988, c. P-25, ss. 4–10 | courts.pe.ca / provincial-court |
| Judicial Council of Newfoundland and Labrador | Newfoundland & Labrador | Provincial Court Act, 1991, SNL 1991, c. 15, ss. 18–28 | court.nl.ca / judicial-council |
| Judicial Council of Yukon | Yukon | Territorial Court Act, RSY 2002, c. 217, ss. 30–38 | yukoncourts.ca / territorial-court |
| Judicial Council of the Northwest Territories | Northwest Territories | Territorial Court Act, RSNWT 1988, c. T-2, ss. 31.1–31.13 | nwtcourts.ca / territorial-court |
| Judicial Council of Nunavut | Nunavut (Nunavut Court of Justice is unified s.96 + s.92.14 court; conduct review via CJC for the s.96 side and the territorial council for the s.92 side) | Nunavut Act, SC 1993, c. 28; Judicature Act, SNu 2008, c. 8 | nunavutcourts.ca |
Why this page exists
Judicial councils are the institutional mechanism by which judicial conduct (as distinct from judicial decisions) is reviewed in Canada. The conduct process is constitutional in design: judges cannot be removed at will by government; removal of a federally appointed judge requires a joint address of the Senate and House of Commons after a CJC hearing-panel report (Constitution Act, 1867, s. 99). This page makes the institutional and process layer findable. It does not, and will not, host case-level content about any specific judge or complaint.
Statute citations are at the section level for findability. Statutes are amended; verify at CanLII or the relevant provincial e-Laws source before relying on a citation in legal proceedings. The CJC conduct process was substantially restructured by the Act to amend the Judges Act (SC 2023, c. 19), in force 2024-06-17.
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Related: Law Societies · Appointments Registry · Provincial Oversight · Federal Ombudsmen