How to file an appeal in civil matters

(A) APPEALS AS OF RIGHT: INSTRUCTIONS FOR NOTICES OF APPEAL IN CIVIL MATTERS

OBJECT: An appeal as of right is initiated by filing the Notice of Appeal and proof of service of the Notice of Appeal on the respondent (art. 352 C.C.P.).

TIME LIMIT: Generally, the Notice of Appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date of the notice of judgment or the date of the judgment if the judgment was rendered at the hearing (art. 360 C.C.P.). Certain laws may establish shorter time limits.

SERVICE: The Notice of Appeal must be served by bailiff on the respondent before being filed (arts. 352 and 358 C.C.P.).

NOTIFICATION: The Notice of Appeal must be notified as follows:

• two copies to the office of the court of first instance (art. 354 C.C.P. and s. 34 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.);
• one copy to the lawyer who represented the respondent in first instance (art. 358 C.C.P.); and
• one copy to persons with an interest in the appeal as intervenors or impleaded parties (art. 358 C.C.P.). 

FILING: 

• The Notice of Appeal must be filed at the counter of the office of the Court of Appeal or by means of the Digital Office of the Court of Appeal, together with:
  

  • proof of service of the Notice of Appeal on the respondent (arts. 352 and 353 C.C.P. and s. 33 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.); and
  • a copy of the judgment in first instance (art. 353 C.C.P. and s. 31 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.);
  • a copy of the notice of judgment (s. 31 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).

• Within three working days following the expiry of the time limit for appeal, you must file with the Court office proof of notification to the office of the court of first instance and to the parties interested in the appeal as intervenors or impleaded parties (s. 34 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• If the filing is done at the counter of the Court office, the PDF version of the Notice of Appeal must be transmitted to the Court office by means of the Digital Office of the Court of Appeal (s. 13 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.). Please refer to the Chief Justice’s Directive entitled “Rules Respecting the Preparation of the PDF Version of Pleadings, Briefs, Memoranda, Books of Authorities or Any Other Document” and the Clerk’s Practice Direction No. 7 entitled “Transmission of the PDF Version of Certain Pleadings, Briefs, Memoranda and Other Documents by Means of the Digital Office of the Court of Appeal (DOCA)”.
   

JUDICIAL FEE: You must pay the fee when filing the Notice of Appeal:
 

FORMAT OF THE PAPER VERSION OF NOTICES OF APPEAL:  

• Paper: good quality white paper, 8 ½” x 11” (21.5 cm X 28 cm) (s. 24 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Text: on the front of each sheet, with a minimum of one and one-half spaces between lines, 12-point Arial font, minimum margins of 1 inch (2.5 cm) (s. 24 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Designation of the parties: includes the name of the parties, their status in the appeal in uppercase letters, and their status in first instance in lowercase letters (art. 353 C.C.P. and s. 25 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Number of pages: Maximum of 10 pages, excluding the designation of the parties, the conclusions sought and the references required by the second paragraph of s. 29 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M. (s. 30 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Heading: the heading is “Notice of Appeal”. It is written on the back, if applicable, and on the first page. It indicates the date and the filing party (s. 26 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• The Notice of Appeal and its schedules must be presented as a unit. Their paper version must be stapled or bound with a spiral binding or other type of binding.

CONTENT:

• Mandatory references: the text of the second and third paragraphs of art. 358 C.C.P. and the text of s. 38 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M. must be reproduced at the end of the Notice of appeal (s. 29 para. 2 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Confidentiality: if applicable, include an express reference to confidentiality beneath the record number and, if applicable, attach the order (ss. 9 and 29 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Specify the court that rendered the judgment under appeal (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Date of the judgment of first instance (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Duration of the trial in first instance (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Conclusions sought by the appellant (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Grounds of appeal (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Value of the subject matter of the dispute (if applicable) (art. 353 C.C.P.).

_{(Updated: 2022-11-22)}

(B) APPEALS WITH LEAVE (PERMISSION): PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATIONS FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL

OBJECT: To appeal certain judgments, leave (permission) to appeal must be obtained from a judge of the Court of Appeal (arts. 30 and 31 C.C.P.). The Application for Leave to Appeal must be filed at the same time as the Notice of Appeal (art. 357 C.C.P.).

TIME LIMIT: Generally, the Application for Leave to Appeal and the Notice of Appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date of the notice of judgment or the date of the judgment if it was rendered at the hearing (art. 360 C.C.P.). Certain laws may establish shorter time limits. It is also possible to seek leave to appeal after the expiry of the time limit (art. 363 C.C.P.). 

SERVICE: The Notice of Appeal and the Application for Leave to Appeal must be served by bailiff on the opposing party before being filed (arts. 352 and 358 C.C.P.). These two pleadings must be served together. The Application for Leave to Appeal must be accompanied by a notice of presentation and, if required, an affidavit (ss. 65 and 66 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).

NOTIFICATION: The Notice of Appeal and the Application for Leave to Appeal must be notified as follows, at least five working days before the presentation date of the application:

• two copies to the office of the court of first instance (art. 354 C.C.P. and s. 34 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.);
• one copy to the lawyer who represented the respondent in first instance (art. 358 C.C.P.); and
• one copy to persons with an interest in the appeal as intervenors or impleaded parties (art. 358 C.C.P.). 

FILING:

• The Notice of Appeal and the Application for Leave to Appeal must be filed at the counter of the office of the Court of Appeal in duplicate or by means of the Digital Office of the Court of Appeal together with:
  
  

  • proof of service of the Notice of Appeal and the Application for Leave to Appeal on the respondent (arts. 352 and 353 C.C.P. and s. 33 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.);
  • a copy of the judgment in first instance and, if applicable, the notice of judgment (art. 353 C.C.P. and s. 31 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.); and
  • all the documents necessary for the adjudication of the application (s. 32 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
    
    

• Within three working days following the expiry of the time limit for appeal, you must file with the Court office proof of notification to the office of the court of first instance and to the other parties (s. 34 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
  
  
• If the filing is done at the counter of the Court office, the PDF version of the Notice of Appeal and of the Application for Leave to Appeal must be transmitted to the Court office by means of the Digital Office of the Court of Appeal (s. 13 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.). Please refer to the Chief Justice’s Directive entitled “Rules Respecting the Preparation of the PDF Version of Pleadings, Briefs, Memoranda, Books of Authorities or Any Other Document” and the Clerk’s Practice Direction No. 7 entitled “Transmission of the PDF Version of Certain Pleadings, Briefs, Memoranda and Other Documents by Means of the Digital Office of the Court of Appeal (DOCA)”. 

FORMAT OF THE PAPER VERSION OF APPLICATIONS FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL:
(For the format of the paper version of Notices of Appeal, please refer to the previous part.)

• Paper: good quality white paper, 8 ½” x 11” (21.5 cm x 28 cm) (s. 24 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Text: on the front of each sheet, with a minimum of one and one-half spaces between lines, 12-point Arial font, minimum margins of 1 inch (2.5 cm) (s. 24 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Designation of the parties: includes the name of the parties, their status in the appeal in uppercase letters, and their status in first instance in lowercase letters (art. 353 C.C.P. and s. 25 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Number of pages: maximum of 10 pages, excluding the designation of the parties and the conclusions sought (s. 30 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• Heading: the heading is “Application for Leave to Appeal (art. 30 or 31 C.C.P.)”, and it is written on the first page. It indicates the date and the filing party (s. 26 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).
• The Application for Leave to Appeal and its schedules must be presented as a unit. Their paper version must be stapled or bound with a spiral binding or other type of binding.

CONTENT:

• Specify the court that rendered the judgment under appeal (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Date of the judgment of first instance (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Duration of the trial in first instance (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Conclusions sought by the appellant (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Value of the subject matter of the dispute (if applicable) (art. 353 C.C.P.).
• Facts in support of the Application for Leave to Appeal.
• A succinct explanation of why the Court should hear the appeal.
• Schedules to the Application for Leave to Appeal:
  

  • All the documents necessary for its adjudication, including the judgment in first instance, the pleadings, the exhibits, the depositions, the relevant statutory or regulatory provisions, and other documents.
  • They must be separated by tabs and preceded by a table of contents referring to the numbers of the tabs and pages.
  • It is not necessary to include the Notice of Appeal in the schedules to the Application for Leave to Appeal.

JUDICIAL FEE: You must pay the fee when filing the Notice of Appeal. The fee is the same as the fee for an appeal as of right and is paid only once:

PRESENTATION: The Application for Leave to Appeal must be presented as soon as possible before a judge of the Court of Appeal. It is contested orally, but the respondent may file with the Court office and notify to the other parties an outline of oral argument not exceeding two pages setting out its position (art. 357 C.C.P. and s. 74 para. 2 R.C.A.Q.Civ.M.).

_{(Updated: 2022-11-22)}