Making Family Law Dispute Resolution Better: Intersection of Public & Private Process: Indigenous Child Protection

The Honorable George Czutrin was appointed Senior Justice of the Family Court on December 7, 2013. He was first appointed on June 10, 1993 as a member of the only Unified Family Court in the Province in Hamilton. Soon after the first expansion of the UFC in 1995 he became the family local administrative judge in Hamilton and continued in that role until his transfer to Toronto where he became the family team leader from September 2009 until his appointment as Senior Judge of the family Court. He is a member of the Family Law Rules Committee, Council of Regional Seniors and several subcommittees of the council, including the modernization committee whose mandate includes advocacy for technology in the courts to assist parties, counsel and judges. He was President of the international Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (2002-2004) and a founding member of the Ontario Chapter of AFCC, He is Ontario Superior Court Hague Contact Judge; Member, Ontario Unified Family Court Steering Committee; Member of the Family Court Rules Committee; Member of the Canadian Judicial Council’s Judicial Committee on Inter-Jurisdictional Child Protection; was a Co-Chair, Ministry of the Attorney General Family Justice Roundtable. Presenter at countless family law educational programs including Canadian Bar Association, Law Society of Upper Canada, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), (Ontario and international), National Family Law Program (Federation of Law Societies), National Justice Institute, Osgoode Hall Law School Continuing Legal Education, Advocates Society, OAFM, FDRIO, CCLA. He is a graduate of Osgood Hall Law School (1976 ) and called to the bar in 1978 and started practice in Hamilton where he specialized in family law, family Bar Ad instructor, member of the Children’s Lawyer Child Representation panel and very active a variety of family law committees at the Law Society, Canadian Bar Association , CDLPA and represented CDLPA on committees leading to the first expansion of UFC, advocate for Unified Family Courts, family justice , family court innovation and access to family justice. Married for 45 years, two children and three grandchildren.