November 2016 - Rules Amending the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada

Please take notice that the Rules Amending the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, SOR/2016-271, were published in Part II of the Canada Gazette on November 2, 2016. The amendments, which come into force on January 1, 2017, will apply to all cases.

The not-yet-in-force amendments appear on the Department of Justice Laws Website.

The amendments include a new process for giving notice when an appeal raises a constitutional issue, as well as new deadlines for serving and filing appeal documents.

Other amendments will reduce costs to parties and further modernize the Court’s processes. Hyperlinks to cited authorities are to be provided in the factum and books of authorities are only necessary for those authorities that are not available electronically. Documents may be served by e-mail, with some exceptions. In addition, the number of print copies required for parts of the record will be significantly reduced.

The amendments are fully explained in a Guide. The Guidelines for Preparing Documents to be Filed with the Supreme Court of Canada (Print and Electronic) issued pursuant to Rule 21 will also be updated to reflect these amendments and will be available as of December 1, 2016. 

For further information, please contact any Registry officer at 613-996-8666.

Roger Bilodeau, Q.C.
Registrar

November 2016