The Committee used to be known as the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs and the Standing Committee on Justice and the Solicitor General. This reflected the fact that it was responsible for examining the operations of both the Department of Justice and the Department of the Solicitor General, along with their associated agencies.

On 30 September 1997, the House of Commons changed the Committee’s name to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. The name change signalled that the Committee took on part of the mandate of the former Standing Committee on Human Rights and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

In February 2004, the House of Commons again changed the Committee’s name to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. This change was due to the reorganization and renaming of the Solicitor General portfolio. The former Department of the Solicitor General is now called Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. This new department has taken on added responsibilities for the Canada Border Services Agency and the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness. And in April, 2006, the House of Commons again changed the name to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, at the same time establishing a new Standing Committee (the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security) to take on the balance of the former mandate.

For a list of reports and activities undertaken by the Committee during the 38th Parliament, please consult the sections on Reports and Responses and Studies and Activities.