Access to Court Materials
At the Court Registry
As a general rule, all court documents are a matter of public record unless a legislative provision or court order restricts public access. Documents subject to a sealing order (these are rare) cannot be inspected by the public, including members of the media. Documentation pertaining to cases subject to a publication ban (see below), may be inspected.
Members of the public, including the media, can attend in person at the Court
Registry and inspect court records. Twenty-four hours' notice is required to
have them delivered to the Registry Desk. Please contact the Court
Records Office to check about the availability of the court record in question.
If photocopies are required, they can be made at the Registry at a cost of
$.50 per page. No part of the Court record can be removed from the Courthouse.
Paper copies of the Court's decisions are also available at the Court Registry
for a fee.
On the Internet
Generally, documents in the Court record are not available over the Internet
but may be inspected and copied at the Court Registry. Information about
cases, including names and contact information for counsel for the parties
and interveners, dates of steps taken in the litigation, etc is available over
the Internet through the Case
Information link.
The decisions
of the Court are available over the Internet in both official languages. This
service is provided through a joint project between the Supreme Court of Canada
and the LexUM team of the Centre de recherche en droit public at the University
of Montreal. The collection available through LexUM goes back to 1985.
Photographs
The Court holds copyright over all photographs of the Court and its judges that appear on its website and in its publications. Upon request, the Court will grant a limited licence to use its photographs, subject to conditions set out in an undertaking to be signed by the requestor. Anyone wishing to obtain a photograph and the right to use a photograph should send an e-mail to media@scc-csc.gc.ca.
Video Recordings
All hearings of appeals are recorded on video. Anyone wishing to obtain a video recording for an educational, non-commercial purpose may make a request in writing to the Registrar. The request should specify the appeal in question and the purpose for which the recording is required. If approval is granted, the requestor will be required to sign an undertaking setting out the terms of use. The requestor will be required to pay a fee to obtain a copy of the tape.
Note that certain appeals may be subject to a publication ban. If a request for a video recording is granted, it is the responsibility of the person or entity broadcasting the appeal to ensure that the publication ban is respected. For more information, see publication bans.
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