Sheriff

Office of the Sheriff

  Sheriff Logo

 

Under the authority of the Judicature Act, (section 77), Sheriffs provide for the safety and security of the participants in the judicial system at the Nunavut Court of Justice, both at the Nunavut Justice Centre in Iqaluit as well as circuit courts to other communities throughout the territory. 

 

In Nunavut, there is a Sheriff for Nunavut and several Deputy Sheriffs.  Sheriffs are officers of the Nunavut Court of Justice and referred to as a “peace officer.”  In Nunavut, Sheriff’s are responsible for:

 

  • Court Security;
  • Transportation of prisoners from the Nunavut Justice Centre to court facilities in Iqaluit;
  • Service of some documents;
  • Enforcement of Civil Orders
  • Administration of Jury Trials in the territory.

 

Sheriffs provide security in the courtroom, courthouse and holding cells, summons and administer juries, arrange for transportation and transport of prisoners in custody, serve court documents, execute court orders involving arrest, provide services to the Office of the Chief Coroner and performs other duties. 

 

In the course of their work, sheriffs interact daily with a variety of clients, stakeholders and justice partners.  This includes accused persons, the judiciary, legal counsel, law enforcement agencies, victims, their families and members of the public.

 

Court Security Duties

 

Sheriffs are responsible for providing security services for the Nunavut Court of Justice at the Nunavut Justice Centre, of Nunavut for regular court sittings and circuit court sittings throughout the territory.  The Sheriff may also provide security assistance at corners inquests upon request.

 

As part of their court security responsibility, Sheriffs also have the authority to arrest someone as a peace officer or, sometimes, when enforcing a warrant for arrest for the court.

 

The Sheriffs also have a specialized Provost unit that is responsible for the transportation of prisoners between the Nunavut Justice Centre and correctional facilities in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

 

Civil Enforcement Duties

 

Sheriffs are also involved with the enforcement of civil court judgments involving money  and property.  If the court decides that you owe money to someone or that you have something that belongs to someone else, a sheriff can be asked to take steps to collect the money or to pick up the item.

 

When someone has a court order or judgment, the law in Nunavut allows sheriff to take instructions from the person who got the order to take steps like:

 

  • taking money from someone’s pay cheque or bank account,
  • to seize property like a snow machine or truck; or
  • to evict someone from a property.

  

Jury Administration Duties

 

Sheriffs are also responsible for the administration of jury trials in Nunavut.  The Sheriff of Nunavut is responsible for maintaining the list of potential jurors in the Territory.  The Sheriffs also prepare and send out or serve jury summons that require members of the public to come to court for a process called jury selection.  The Sheriff is also allowed to excuse people for having to attend at a jury selection.

 

At the jury selection, the Sheriffs can provide information to or answer questions from potential jurors about how the process works.  They also provide court security at both the jury selection and the jury trial.  Once a jury is selected, a sheriff sits with the jury in a courtroom.

 

For more information about the Jury Trials and what happens when you receive a jury summons, click here.

 

Document Service Duties

 

The Rules of Court require that some documents are served personally. That means that you can’t mail or email a document to someone.  Someone has to hand it to them personally.  Sometimes, the rules require that the Sheriff serve a document.

 

The Sheriff’s office employees and contracts Bailiff’s throughout the territory to assist with the service of legal documents as well as providing assistance to the Office of the Sheriff when required.

 

The Sheriff’s Office may charge fees and expenses for serving documents. If you have questions about what it may cost to have the Sheriff serve documents, please contact the Sheriff’s Office.

 

 

Sheriff’s Office

 

Address: Nunavut Justice Centre (Bldg 510)  PO Box 297  Iqaluit NU X0A 0H0 Canada

Call: 867-975-6103 or Toll Free 1-866-286-0546

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   

Fax: 1-867-975-66168

Hours: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm