Appeals on the merits

The emergency measures implemented to deal with the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic have made it impossible to hold hearings before the Court of Appeal until May 15, 2020, inclusively. Subject to the following, all appeals on the merits scheduled on the rolls for the weeks of May 4 to 8 and May 11 to 15, 2020 are therefore postponed to an indeterminate date.

In order to mitigate, to the extent possible, the inconvenience resulting from this measure, the Court draws the attention of parties to the possibility of having the Court decide certain appeals without a hearing, in accordance with art. 384 of the Code of Civil Procedure, s. 72 of the Rules of the Court of Appeal of Quebec in Criminal Matters or s. 67 of the Regulation of the Court of Appeal of Quebec in Penal Matters, as applicable.

Parties may submit a joint request to that effect to the Court in a civil, criminal or penal matter. The Court (or one of its judges) will then decide whether it is appropriate to proceed in this manner and will inform you accordingly. The specific conditions for making such a request are set out below.

If a request to that effect is not received, the Court will postpone the hearing of the appeal and return the file to the Master of the Rolls so a hearing can be scheduled at a later date.

Motions before a panel of the Court

With the exception of motions to dismiss an appeal, which may be dismissed without a hearing and without costs, motions scheduled on the roll for May 4 or 11, 2020 will not proceed, unless the Court office sends a notice indicating that the matter will be heard via technological means. In such a case, the Court office will contact you no later than ten days before the date of the hearing.

Urgent matters

In the event of an emergency, you are asked to contact the Court office in writing (i.e., by letter sent by fax or email - see below for the contact information of the offices of the Court) and provide a detailed explanation of the reasons for the emergency. If the Court considers the situation urgent, the Court office will contact counsel or the unrepresented parties in order to determine the date and conditions for the required hearings.

Section "COVID-19 Pandemic - Update"

We invite you to regularly check our section of the website devoted to the COVID-19 Pandemic for an update on the situation at the Court of Appeal: COVID-19 Pandemic - Update

Contact information for the offices of the Court

• Office of the Court in Quebec City: Fax: 418-646-6961 or courdappelqc@judex.qc.ca
• Office of the Court in Montreal: Fax: 514-864-7270 or courdappelmtl@judex.qc.ca