This PIA has been prepared collaboratively by Court Services Branch, Department of Justice, and the Supreme Court of Yukon, the Yukon Territorial Court, and the Court of Appeal of Yukon (collectively, the “Courts”). The scope of this PIA is the Courts’ Case Management System (CCMS) initiative which will modernize digital information management, digital workflows and the security of court records and judicial information.
Although the Courts are not public bodies as defined in the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPP) and court records and judicial information are not subject to the provisions of ATIPP, this PIA is being submitted as part of the Courts’ commitment to secure management of information and transparency in the management of court records and judicial information.
The Courts are committed to the secure management of sensitive and other information in court records and judicial information. The Courts work collaboratively with the Yukon government in pursuit of this goal. Court Services Branch has a dual reporting relationship with the judiciary and Government of Yukon.
Governance of Court Records and Judicial Information
The Courts are an independent branch of government under the Canadian constitution. Independence of Courts and the judiciary ensures respect for the rule of law and public confidence in the administration of justice. As an independent branch of government, the judiciary has supervisory and protecting authority over its own records, including over the court record and judicial information.
As a general rule, court proceedings and many court records are open and public. This is known as the open court principle and articulated in common law and is protected by the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The open court principle serves to instill public confidence in the justice system.
ATIPP
The independence of the Courts and the distinct nature of court records and judicial information are recognized in common law and in ATIPP. ATIPP expressly exempts court records and judicial information from the scope of the legislation. These defined terms in ATIPP are broad and include court records and judicial information whether in paper or electronic form, and whether aggregated or disaggregated.
The ATIPP definitions are:
Court record:
(1) …“court record” means a record contained in a court registry, or that is created or produced by or for a court in respect of a proceeding, and includes
(a) a record of the dates on which the proceeding was heard or will be heard and the name of the judge who heard or is listed to hear the proceeding,
(b) a record of a judgment in respect of the proceeding, including an order made or a direction given by the judge during the proceeding, and
(c) a record admitted into evidence by the court during the proceeding;
Among other information, court record includes:
• system data fields that registry staff fill out when documents are submitted to the registry for filing;
• court forms, when filed in the registry (for example, forms located on the Supreme Court site at https://www.yukoncourts.ca/en/supreme-court/rules-forms); and forms prescribed in other legislation;
• documents filed in relation to a court proceeding;
• exhibits attached to affidavits or court forms;
• registry generated reports on proceedings in the Courts;
• information presented or captured by the court during a court proceeding.
Judicial information:
“judicial information” means
(a) information collected, used, stored, processed or generated by a judge, or an individual working for or on behalf of the judge,
(b) information about a judge, including
(i) information about the support services provided to the judge by court registry staff,
(ii) information about the judge’s schedule in relation to proceedings,
(iii) information about the judge’s judicial training program, and
(iv) information about the judicial activity of the judge, including statistics about that activity prepared by or for the judge, and
(c) information about, and the records of, the Judicial Council of the Territorial Court (established under the Territorial Court Act), including information and records related to the duties and powers of a member of the Judicial Council of the Territorial Court;
Among other information, judicial information includes:
• information and documents created by a judge;
• scheduling of judges, trials, hearing and related information;
• content of judicial training programs;
• statistics of judicial activity;
• records of the Judicial Council.
The management of court records and court systems, including the current ACRIS and JEIN as well as the proposed CCMS system (which will replace ACRIS and JEIN), is the role of Court Services Branch, Department of Justice, under the direction and supervision of the Courts.
The management of judicial information is the responsibility of the Chief Justice or Chief Judge of each Court.
