FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST AN ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
Housing (TAL), labour (TAT), social assistance or compensation (TAQ) — administrative judges hear thousands of cases each year. The Conseil de la justice administrative receives ethics complaints against these judges, free of charge.
VERSION FRANÇAISE →Did a judge of the Tribunal administratif du logement treat you inappropriately? Did a member of the Tribunal administratif du travail show manifest bias? Did a special clerk fail in their ethical duties? The Conseil de la justice administrative (CJA) is the independent body that receives complaints against the judges of Quebec's administrative tribunals.
This guide shows you how to organize your facts, draft your complaint with the help of AI, and submit it to the Council — in four simple steps.
Administrative tribunals covered by the Council
The Conseil de la justice administrative has jurisdiction over the judges and members of several Quebec administrative tribunals. First check that your situation involves one of the following tribunals.
Tribunal administratif du logement (formerly Régie du logement) — administrative judges and special clerks. Tenant-landlord disputes, evictions, rent fixing.
Tribunal administratif du travail — administrative judges. Workplace accidents (CNESST), labour relations, health and safety, labour standards.
Tribunal administratif du Québec — administrative judges. Social assistance, crime victims compensation (IVAC), driver's licences (SAAQ), property assessment.
Tribunal administratif des marchés financiers, and presidents of the Bureau des présidents des conseils de discipline of professional orders.
When to file a complaint — the most common grounds
The complaint must denounce inappropriate conduct by an administrative judge — never the content of their decision. Here are the grounds that lead to most complaints upheld by the Council.
A judge who displays a visible bias in favour of one party, who systematically interrupts only one side, or who reaches conclusions before having heard all the evidence.
Humiliating remarks, ridiculing an unrepresented litigant, condescending tone, hurtful comments, unjustified impatience, aggressiveness during the hearing.
Undisclosed personal or professional connection with one of the parties, inappropriate public comment on an ongoing case, recusal refused without justification.
Conduct outside the tribunal that undermines the honour or dignity of the office: offences, inappropriate public behaviour, undeclared conflicts of interest.
The Council cannot modify or set aside a decision rendered by an administrative judge. If you are dissatisfied with the decision itself, the appropriate recourse is a review (within the same tribunal) or an application for judicial review at the Superior Court, within the prescribed deadlines.
The Council also cannot represent you before the administrative tribunal nor award financial compensation. It can only sanction an ethical breach.
If you want to file a complaint while a case is ongoing, be aware that the Council will not begin processing your complaint until the judge has rendered their final decision. You can still file the complaint immediately: it will be put on hold.
Once filed, your complaint cannot be withdrawn. It must be disposed of by the Council.
The guide in 4 simple steps
Identify precisely the judge and the tribunal
Before anything else, verify that the person targeted by your complaint is indeed an administrative judge of one of the tribunals covered by the Council. The information to gather:
If you are not sure which tribunal is concerned, check the notice or decision you received — the name of the tribunal always appears there.
Gather and organize your facts
Open a document and write a clear and factual chronological summary. The Council needs a precise description of the conduct complained of — not a challenge to the decision. Include:
Ask Claude to draft your complaint
Open Claude — or Gemini or ChatGPT — and paste your facts with this prompt:
The AI will draft a structured initial version that clearly distinguishes between the conduct complained of (admissible) and the decision itself (not admissible). Read carefully before submitting.
Submit your complaint to the Council
Any complaint must be in writing. The simplest and safest method is the Council's online form. The Council's team can also help you file the complaint if you need assistance.
The service is entirely free. You will receive an acknowledgment of receipt, then your complaint will undergo an admissibility review before any potential investigation.
The steps after filing your complaint
Once your complaint is received, the Council proceeds in several steps:
Admissibility review (in camera) · Constitution of an investigation committee if the complaint is admissible · Hearing (public, unless ordered otherwise) · Decision of the committee · Possible sanctions: reprimand, suspension, or recommendation for removal from office to the government
The Council's sittings and the hearings of its investigation committees are public, unless ordered otherwise — except for the admissibility review committee, which sits in camera. The complainant and the administrative judge act as witnesses — this is not a trial between two parties. The committee can conduct its own research and summon any useful person.
If the complaint is found to be well-founded, the committee may recommend a reprimand, a suspension, or in the most serious cases, the removal from office of the administrative judge. The CJA cannot remove a judge itself — it submits its recommendation to the government, which is responsible for the final removal.
What AI does — and what it does not do
AI helps you organize your facts and draft a clear and respectful complaint. It does not give you legal advice and does not replace a lawyer.
The most common pitfall is to disguise a challenge to a decision as an ethics complaint. The Council dismisses such complaints. Before submitting, ask yourself: am I denouncing a conduct (tone, attitude, words, visible bias) or am I challenging a result (unfavourable decision, assessment of the evidence)? Only the first is admissible.
To challenge the decision itself, the recourses are elsewhere: application for review within the tribunal (short deadlines — often 30 days), or application for judicial review at the Superior Court (generally 30 days). The Centres de justice de proximité can guide you free of charge on the right recourse to use.
If your situation is complex and you are eligible, legal aid can cover your fees.
Ready to submit your complaint?
START MY COMPLAINT TO THE CJA →Administrative judges' ethics exists for you
Each year, tens of thousands of Quebecers appear before the TAL, the TAT or the TAQ — often without a lawyer, in difficult moments of their lives. Administrative judges have a duty to treat them with impartiality, courtesy and dignity. When this duty is not respected, the Conseil de la justice administrative exists to receive your complaint. Identify the judge and the tribunal, organize your facts, draft your complaint with the help of AI, and submit it free of charge. The rest is up to the Council.
An error to report? Information to add or a question about this guide? Write to us at justice-quebec@outlook.com — we read every message.