OAIRP Updates > 194 – March 2022 Notice to the Profession from Chief Justice Morawetz
To all OAIRP Members:
The following is a Notice to the Profession from Chief Justice Morawetz. Please direct any questions or concerns to Cheryl Alphonso.
Sent on behalf of Chief Justice Morawetz
Dear members of Bar Associations and Legal Organizations,
On Thursday, March 17th, I will be releasing the Court’s Guidelines determining the mode of proceeding in Civil, Family, Criminal, and Small Claims Court to the Bar and the public. These Guidelines set out the presumptive method of hearing for any given matter. The work in developing the Court’s Guidelines was conducted over many months and involved considerable input from the Bar, the Court’s specialized working groups and the judiciary.
My upcoming announcement regarding the new Guidelines will be made in a video message to the Bar. Please distribute the following link and password, which should only be shared with your Division:
https://vimeo.com/688916717:
Password: scjGuidelinescFc172022.
This link will be accessible at 4:30 p.m. on March 17, 2022. Thereafter, the Guidelines and Virtual Courtroom Etiquette Rules will be posted on the Court’s website at : https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/
A return to gowning for in-person hearings, which will be set out in the Notice to the Profession and Public Regarding Court Proceedings, along with The Virtual Courtroom Etiquette Rules, will come into effect on April 19, 2022.
As you will hear in my message to the Bar, the Guidelines are intended to ensure that virtual hearings remain a permanent feature in Superior Court of Justice proceedings. They will also come into effect on April 19, 2022 so that you have some time to familiarize yourselves with them prior to implementation.
The guidelines are a living document and I commit to reviewing them in the coming year.
Geoffrey B. Morawetz,
Chief Justice, Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Cheryl Alphonso
Administrative Assistant to Executive Legal Officer (Norine Nathanson)
A/Administrative Assistant to Counsel (Rosemarie Juginovic)
Office of the Chief Justice
Superior Court of Justice
130 Queen Street West
Osgoode Hall
Toronto, ON M5H 2N5