Supreme Court Act

Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada

SCC Forms

Fees

Checklists for most commonly filed documents

Notices to the Profession

Guidelines for Electronic Filing

Act and Rules

Principal changes to
Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada

Computation of Time
(Rules 5 and 5.1)

1. The month of July is now included in the computation of time for the filing of a motion for leave to intervene and the service of constitutional questions.
   
   
2. The period beginning on December 21 in a year and ending on January 7 in the following year shall not be included in the computation of time under the Rules for serving and filing documents. The holiday recess is not excluded from the computation of time to serve and file a notice of appeal or an application for leave to appeal because both these cases are governed by Section 58 of the Act.
   
   

Filing and Service of Documents
(Rules 19 and 20)

1. Under Rule 19, there is a new provision requiring the filing of a redacted version of any document that includes or reveals information contained in a document that is subject to a sealing order.
   
   
2. Rule 20 permits the proof of service to be filed up to two days after the service of a document.
   
   

Style of Cause
(Rule 22)

1. Under Subparagraphs 22(2)(c)(i) and (3)(c)(i), the style of cause shall include an intervener who was given full party status in the court appealed and, in Quebec, any mis-en-cause in the court appealed from who is not already named in the style of cause.
   
   
2. Subrule 22(3.1) has been added to specify that the style of cause in a motion shall follow the style of cause for the application for leave to appeal or the appeal, as the case may be, and may be abbreviated to name only the first applicant and respondent, or the first appellant and respondent, as the case may be.
   

Procedure on an Application for Leave to Appeal
(Rules 25 to 28)

1. Copies of the reasons for judgment from courts below will be accepted in the form of a printout from an electronic database.
   
   
2. Copies of draft orders from courts below will be accepted but final versions must be filed as soon as they are signed and entered.
   
   
3. Paragraph 26(2)(a) permits the faxing of a notice of application for leave to appeal to all other parties and interveners in the court appealed from.
   
   
4. The procedure for filing an intervener’s response on an application for leave to appeal has been added to Rule 27.
   
   

Procedure on an Appeal
(Rules 33 to 45)

1. There is a new requirement to serve on all interveners a copy of the appellant’s and respondent’s documents.
   
   
2. Filing deadlines for all interveners’ factums have been added to Rule 37.
   
   
3. Part I of factums must include a “concise overview” of the position of each party.
   
   
4. Subrule 42(2)(e) sets out the procedure for interveners to request time at the hearing of the appeal in Part V of their factum. Interveners will not be permitted to present oral argument unless otherwise ordered.
   
   
5. Part VII of a factum shall consist of statutes, regulations, rules etc. “directly at issue”, but lengthy statutes shall be bound in a separate volume, and statutes not directly at issue shall be included in the book of authorities.
   
   
6. There are new provisions requiring the filing of e-factums prepared in accordance with guidelines issued by the Registrar.
   
   
7. Books of authorities shall contain only the relevant excerpts of reasons for judgment where the authority is available electronically. If the reasons for judgment are not available electronically, the books should contain the reasons for judgment in full.
   
   
8. The condensed book may contain an outline of the oral argument which shall relate to the contents of the condensed book and shall not constitute a supplementary factum.
   
   

Procedure on a Reference
(Rule 46)

1. The procedure on a reference has been formalized.
   

Motions
(Rules 47 to 54)

1. Rule 47(1)(b) was amended to make affidavits optional on motions before a judge or the Registrar.
   
   
2. It is sufficient to serve only the notice of motion to those other parties which are not parties to the motion
   
   

Constitutional Questions
(Rules 60 and 61)

1. The party who made the motion to state a constitutional question is no longer required to prepare an order that states the constitutional question stated by the Chief Justice or a judge. It is sufficient to file a draft order with the motion in accordance with Rule 47.
   
   

Dismissal for Delay – Application for Leave to Appeal
(Rule 64)

1. The Registrar no longer has to wait three months before sending notices for dismissal for want of prosecution.
   
   

Reconsideration
(Rule 73)

1. The filing of a reply on a motion for reconsideration is now permitted.
   
   

Fees and Costs
(Rules 82 to 85)

1. the tariff of fees payable to the Registrar set out in Schedule A of the Rules, and the tariff of fees and disbursements to be taxed between parties set out in Schedule B of the Rules, were revised and adjusted to compensate for inflation.
   
   
2. Rule 83 now specifies a six month limitation period on taxing costs.
   
   
3. A respondent on a motion for extension for time, which was submitted with an application for leave to appeal and which is denied, is entitled to have their costs taxed on the application for leave to appeal.
   
   

Forms

1. Form 25B, which must be filed with an application for leave, a notice of appeal as of right and any originating motion, must also state whether there is confidential information on the file that should not be accessible to the pubic by virtue of specific legislation and include a copy of the provision of the legislation.
   
   
2. Conflict of interest: If a judge’s previous involvement or connection with the case would result in it being inappropriate for that judge to take part in the adjudication on the proceedings in the Court, a certificate in Form 25C setting out the issues must be filed with the application for leave, the notice of appeal or originating motion.
   
   

Transitional Provision

1. The current rules will continue to apply to cases in which the notice of appeal was filed before October 13, 2006, the date of coming into force of the new rules.

    

SOR/2006-203