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Crown attorney
Prosecutor in the Canadian legal system From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Criminal prosecutions in Canada are handled by public officials at both the federal and the provincial level. The names for the position vary with the jurisdiction, such as Crown counsel, Crown attorney, and Crown prosecutor.
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2010) |
The officials represent the state, hence are generally referred to as the Crown in court. Although the criminal law is enacted by the federal Parliament, most prosecutions under the two main criminal statutes, the Criminal Code and the Youth Criminal Justice Act, are conducted by provincial prosecutors. Criminal prosecutions under other federal statutes, such as the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Income Tax Act, are generally (but not exclusively) conducted by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. Provincial prosecutors are also responsible for conducting prosecutions under provincial laws, such as securities laws.
Prosecutors in Canada are public servants, employed by the relevant government. They are not elected. There are similarities between this role and the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales, the procurator fiscal in Scotland, and United States Attorneys or district attorneys in the United States.
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Jurisdictional issues
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Although the enactment of criminal law is under federal jurisdiction in Canada, the prosecution of most Criminal Code offences—outside of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut—is the responsibility of the provincial Attorneys General and their lawful deputies[who?] by virtue of the "interpretation" section of the Criminal Code.[1] As a result, the vast majority of crown attorneys are employed by Canada's ten provinces.
Lawyers who act on civil or administrative matters for the provincial Crown are not referred to as crown attorneys (Senior General Counsel, general counsel), or simply crown counsel. Both criminal and civil attorneys are generally considered to be agents of their province's Attorney General and reports to their office.[2] Lawyers who work for the Federal Ministry of Justice are often referred to as Crowns even if acting in civil matters. Moreover, lawyers, students-at-law and other persons who only represent the Crown on provincial offences matters (such as municipal by-law enforcement and traffic offences) are referred to as "provincial prosecutors" or "provincial offences attorneys" (POAs) rather than crown attorneys. Regardless of whether the prosecuted matter is a criminal offence or a provincial offence, crown Attorneys represent and argue on behalf of the Crown.
Ontario
In the province of Ontario, the name of the official is Crown attorney. The Attorney General of Ontario appoints one Crown attorney per judicial district. The Crown attorney is charged with supervising the Crown attorney's office at the local level, and has a level of autonomy from the Attorney General's office. A Crown attorney will then, in consultation with the Attorney General's office, hire assistant crown attorneys to staff the office and prosecute offences.
As crown attorneys are not elected, the Canadian prosecutorial system is often seen[by whom?] as less politically motivated than other systems.
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Term used for the office in different jurisdictions
- Federal: Crown counsel[3]
- Alberta: Crown prosecutor[4]
- British Columbia: Crown counsel[5]
- Manitoba: Crown attorney[6]
- New Brunswick: Crown prosecutor[7]
- Newfoundland and Labrador: Crown attorney[8]
- Nova Scotia: Crown attorney[9]
- Ontario: Crown attorney[10]
- Prince Edward Island: Crown attorney[11]
- Quebec: Criminal and penal prosecuting attorney[12]
- Saskatchewan: Crown prosecutor[13]
- Northwest Territories: Crown counsel[14]
- Nunavut: Crown counsel[14]
- Yukon: Crown counsel[14]
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See also
References
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