Private Prosecution

If you believe that you are a victim of a crime and the police will not lay charges, you can choose to lay charges yourself. A private prosecution is a unique procedure under s. 507.1 of the Criminal Code in which a person who has reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence has occurred can seek to have this person charged and brought to court. The person bringing the private prosecution application before the court is called the “informant” and the person who the charges are attempted to be laid against is called the “accused”.

To begin a private prosecution, the informant must complete an application form and bring their evidence to a Justice of the Peace in the jurisdiction where the alleged offences occurred. The Justice of the Peace will then decide whether to swear the information, after which a pre-enquete hearing date will be set and notice is provided to the Crown Attorney.

The task of the presiding judge or justice within a pre-enquete hearing was clarified in P.C. v. Ontario (Attorney General) (Ont. CA, 2020) as being to determine whether “the information is valid on its face” and whether “the evidence adduced on the hearing discloses a prima facie case on the offence(s) alleged”. If this criteria is met, then “process” is issued and criminal charges are laid. The Crown Attorney then decides if it will supervise the criminal prosecution. If so, then police will serve a summons/warrant on the accused to attend court to answer to the charge(s).

WHY HIRE GLASS GAVEL LAW

Commencing criminal charges is a serious process and it is important that the court properly receives the application with the strongest available evidence. Although it is not necessary, it is strongly recommended to hire a legal representative to assist you with this process. Glass Gavel Law has the experience assisting clients with private prosecution applications to increase the likelihood of success in these unique procedures. Contact Us or call 1-833-344-2835 for a free 30 minute consultation today.