T-16 - Courts of Justice Act

Section 83.0.1 Disposition versions

Not in force

Not in force

83.0.1. The court specialized in sexual violence and domestic violence is created everywhere in Québec in order to reserve a special procedure for proceedings involving sexual violence or domestic violence, as soon as a person who is a victim contacts a police department, so that

(1)  all proceedings involving sexual violence or domestic violence are heard before the Division Specialized in Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence; and

(2)  the special needs of persons who are victims and the singular context in which they find themselves are considered throughout the proceedings.

For the purposes of establishing the specialized court,

(1)  the Government may, by regulation, determine the types of proceedings heard before the Division Specialized in Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence, which may vary on the basis of any distinction considered useful, in particular on the basis of the judicial districts;

(2)  the Minister of Justice may, however, by order and after consulting the Court of Québec and the other partners from the justice system that the Minister considers appropriate, determine the judicial districts in which the court is to be gradually established and, as a result, where the Division Specialized in Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence may sit;

(3)  the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions must determine, in light of the facts and circumstances of a case, whether the alleged criminal offence involves sexual violence or domestic violence and, if such is the case and subject to the regulation made under subparagraph 1, refer the case to the Division Specialized in Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence;

(4)  the Minister offers persons who are victims services that are integrated and adapted to their needs, which must include support measures, physical premises laid out in a safe and reassuring manner and coordination of the files, regardless of which division of the Court of Québec or Superior Court is to hear any proceeding;

(5)  the Minister favours the handling of a proceeding by the same prosecutor at every stage; and

(6)  the Minister is responsible for ensuring that the government departments and bodies concerned offer basic and specialized continuing education on the realities relating to sexual violence and domestic violence to persons who may intervene within the specialized court, in particular to defense attorneys, prosecutors, clerks, investigators, police officers, court personnel, interpreters and psychosocial workers; in order to offer such continuing education, the government departments and bodies consult the persons and bodies they consider appropriate on the basis of their experience, expertise, sensitivity or interest regarding those matters.

In the report prepared under section 16.1 of the Act respecting the Ministère de la Justice (chapter M-19), the Minister includes a section about the continuing education offered on the realities relating to sexual violence and domestic violence during the preceding year. That section includes, in particular, for each continuing education activity,

(1)  its title, a description of its content, its duration and the dates on which it was offered;

(2)  the department or body that offered the activity; and

(3)  the number of persons who attended and their professional occupation.

2021, c. 32, s. 4.