The Canadian justice system has a specific judicial process when it comes to prosecuting and appealing criminal offences. Summary offences are referred to as summary conviction offences. Summary conviction offences are not as severe as offences that require a criminal indictment. The punishment for summary offences typically involves smaller fines and prison sentences that are not as long as criminal indictments. Both summary conviction offences and indictment conviction offences appear under the jurisdictions of both the provincial and federal courts. Under federal jurisdiction, summary conviction offences will normally involve a fine that can be up to $5000.00 and a prison sentence that can be up to 6 months. They can also include both a prison sentence and a fine. As well, Section 786 of the Canadian Criminal Code has a statute that states that the trial for a summary conviction offence must take place 6 months or less after the offence was committed. However, the defendant and prosecutor have the ability to agree to forgo the statue.
