Court of Appeal of Quebec
The search engine :
- Processes all the words of the query and the order of the words has no impact;
- Considers the space between two words as a logical AND (the default operator)
- Locates documents including the words from the same root;
- Doesn’t differentiate capital and lower cases.
| Find | Operators | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| This exact phrase Finds documents containing the exact phrase placed in quotation marks | Quotation marks " " | "Business legal transaction" |
| All these words (The default operator) Finds documents containing all the words | AND, and, no operator | divorce AND incidental appeal Modification child support |
| Any of these words Finds documents containing any or both of these words | OR, or | Judges OR lawyers |
| None of these words Finds documents containing the first word but not the second | NOT, not | pay support NOT child |
Preparation of briefs or documents standing in lieu thereof in criminal matters
As a general rule a factum must be submitted to the Court unless a judge decides otherwise. It is possible to request a management conference in criminal matters for a file, such as described above.
In certain matters, for example, the appeal of a sentence, an extraordinary remedy, a decision of the Social Affairs Section of the Quebec Administrative Tribunal acting as the Examination Commission pursuant to the Criminal Code, the rule is that a single written submission will be sufficient unless a judge decides otherwise.
Standars track: factums
- File 7 duplicates (1 original and 6 copies) at the Office of the Court and notify two copies on paper to the other parties (s. 42);
- File 7 USB keys with the electronic version of the brief and notify one USB key with the electronic version of the brief to the other parties to the dispute (s. 12 and 42);
- Presentation and content:
- Letter-sized paper (21.5 cm by 28 cm) (s. 18);
- 225 sheets per volume (s. 41(h));
- Argument divided into five parts (s. 36):
- Facts;
- Issues in dispute;
- Submissions;
- Conclusions;
- Authorities;
- Letter-sized paper (21.5 cm by 28 cm) (s. 18);
- The five parts of the argument must not exceed 30 pages, unless a judge decides otherwise (s. 38);
- The argument and schedule I must be printed on the left-hand side and the other schedules must be printed on both sides (s. 41(g));
- The text of the argument must have at least one and a half spaces between lines, except for quotations, which must be single-spaced and indented (s. 41(e));
- The font must be 12-point Arial, except for quotations, which may be in 11‑point Arial, and footnotes, which may be in 10-point Arial (s. 41e));
- Margins must be at least 2.5 cm (s. 41(e));
- Each paragraph of the argument must be numbered (s. 41(f));
- The cover page of each volume must contain the following information:
- The record number in appeal;
- The trial court or, where applicable, the Superior Court sitting in appeal, the judicial district, the name of the judge, the date of the judgment and the record number;
- The designation of the parties;
- The title of the brief by reference to the status of the party in appeal;
- The name and contact information of its author (who signs the attestation) as well as those of counsel for the other parties. If there is insufficient space, the names and contact information of other counsel must be indicated on the following page (s. 41(b));
- The record number in appeal;
- The first volume of the brief must begin with a general table of contents and each subsequent volume must begin with a table of its contents (s. 41(c));
- Page numbers must be at the top of the page and centered. Page numbers must be consecutive (s. 41(d));
- If there are several volumes, the cover page of each volume must indicate its number and the sequence of pages it contains; the same information must appear on the bottom edge of each volume (s. 41(i));
- File 7 duplicates (1 original and 6 copies) at the Office of the Court and notify two copies on paper to the other parties (s. 42);
- The brief must be filed at the Office of the Court within 60 days from the date of the notice required by section 30 of the Rules (s. 42);
- It is possible to obtain an extension of this time limit;
- If the appellant does not respect this time limit, the respondent can, by motion to the Court, ask that the appeal be dismissed (s. 42);
- The cover page must be yellow (s. 41a));
- In addition to the 5 parts of the argument mentioned above, the appellant's brief must contain 3 schedules (s. 39):
- Schedule I: the judgment under appeal, including the reasons given and, in the case of a decision regarding an extraordinary remedy or an appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court sitting in appeal, the decisions of the lower courts;
- Schedule II:
- (i) the notice of appeal and, if applicable, the motion for leave to appeal and the judgment granting leave;
- (ii) the indictment and the minutes of the hearing on the merits at trial;
- (iii) all applicable statutory and regulatory provisions;
- (i) the notice of appeal and, if applicable, the motion for leave to appeal and the judgment granting leave;
- Schedule III: those exhibits and depositions or extracts thereof necessary for the Court to decide the issues in dispute;
- Schedule I: the judgment under appeal, including the reasons given and, in the case of a decision regarding an extraordinary remedy or an appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court sitting in appeal, the decisions of the lower courts;
- On the last page of the brief, its author must include the attestation provided for in section 40.
- The brief must be filed at the Office of the Court within 60 days from the date of the notice required by section 30 of the Rules (s. 42);
- The brief must be filed within 60 days from the filing of the appellant's brief (s. 42);
- It is possible to obtain an extension of this time limit;
- If the respondent does not respect this time limit, the appellant may request, in writing, that the appeal be placed on the roll (s. 42);
- The cover page must be green (s. 41(a));
- It includes the respondent's argument and, if necessary, elements in addition to those in the appellant’s schedules (s. 35).
- The brief must be filed within 60 days from the filing of the appellant's brief (s. 42);
- The cover page must be gray (s. 41(a));
- No time limit is stipulated for the filing of the brief. However, in practice, the Court treats the other parties like the respondent and grants them a time limit of 60 days from the filing of the appellant's brief.
- The cover page must be gray (s. 41(a));
Fast track: summary referral
A judge may, through case management, allow an appeal to proceed without factums and authorize a fixed number of pages for argument to be submitted, within a reduced time frame (articles 1 and 64 R.C.A.).
An example of fast track: summary referral in the case of an appeal of a sentence
This procedure allows for the acceleration of the process and the hearing of an appeal without the formality of factums.
The judge to whom a motion to appeal a sentence is presented may refer this request to the Court without adjudicating on it (article 55 R.C.A).
Once the motion for leave to appeal the sentence has been referred or granted, a judge must establish a timetable and fix the date for hearing of the motion or of the appeal as such, as the case may be (article 56 R.C.A.).
- File with the Office of the Court 5 paper copies of the documents that stand in lieu of the brief (s. 59):
- The motion for leave to appeal and the judgment granting the motion or referring it to the Court, as the case may be;
- The indictment;
- The sentence, including the reasons and the conclusion;
- The depositions from the sentencing hearing and the exhibits, if any;
- Any other relevant remarks of the trial judge and the parties made in the course of submissions as to the sentence; The questionnaire, available at the Office of the Court or on the Court’s website, duly completed (s. 60).
- File 5 USB keys with the electronic version of the documents that stand in lieu of the brief (s. 12);
- The parties may, or must if a judge so orders, attach to their documents arguments not exceeding 10 pages (s. 60);
- The text must have at least one and a half spaces between lines, except for quotations, which must be single-spaced and indented (s. 60);
- The font must be 12-point Arial, except for quotations, which may be in 11-point Arial, and footnotes, which may be in 10-point Arial (s. 60);
- Margins must be at least 2.5 cm (s. 60);
- The text must appear on only one side of each sheet (s. 18);
- The documents must be notified to the other party (s. 59);
- Consecutive page numbers;
- Table of contents;
- The cover page must contain the following information:
- Record number in appeal;
- Designation of the parties (upper case and lower case) (s. 19);
- Title of the pleading (s. 20);
- Name and contact information of the author (s. 16).
- File with the Office of the Court 5 paper copies of the documents that stand in lieu of the brief (s. 59):
- The respondent may also notify the duly completed questionnaire to the appellant and file five copies of the questionnaire with the Office of the Court, no later than 21 days before the date of the hearing of the motion for leave or the appeal (s. 60);
- The respondent may, or must if a judge so orders, file, in five paper copies and after notification to the other party, documents that stand in lieu of the brief (s. 59);
- File 5 USB keys with the electronic version of the documents that stand in lieu of the brief (s. 12);
- The parties may, or must if a judge so orders, attach to their documents arguments not exceeding 10 pages (s. 60);
- The text must have at least one and a half spaces between lines, except for quotations, which must be single-spaced and indented (s. 60);
- The font must be 12-point Arial, except for quotations, which may be in 11-point Arial, and footnotes, which may be in 10-point Arial (s. 60);
- Margins must be at least 2.5 cm (s. 60);
- The text must appear on only one side of each sheet (s. 18);
- The documents must be notified to the other party (s. 59);
- Consecutive page numbers;
- Table of contents;
- The cover page must contain the following information:
- Record number in appeal;
- Designation of the parties (upper case and lower case) (s. 19);
- Title of the pleading (s. 20);
- Name and contact information of the author (s. 16).
- The respondent may also notify the duly completed questionnaire to the appellant and file five copies of the questionnaire with the Office of the Court, no later than 21 days before the date of the hearing of the motion for leave or the appeal (s. 60);