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Criminal Proceedings Rules for the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) (SI/2012-7)

Regulations are current to 2024-02-20 and last amended on 2014-01-01. Previous Versions

Criminal Proceedings Rules for the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario)

SI/2012-7

CRIMINAL CODE

Registration 2012-02-29

Criminal Proceedings Rules for the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario)

The Superior Court of Justice (Ontario), pursuant to subsections 482(1)Footnote 1 and (3)Footnote 2 of the Criminal Code, repeals the Ontario Court of Justice Criminal Proceedings RulesFootnote 3, the Ontario Rules of Practice Respecting Reduction in the Number of Years of Imprisonment Without Eligibility for ParoleFootnote 4 and the Rules Amending the Ontario Court of Justice Criminal Proceedings RulesFootnote 5 and hereby makes the annexed Criminal Proceedings Rules for the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario), effective March 1, 2012.

February 3, 2012

H. J. SMITH
Chief Justice

Part I: General Matters [Rules 1-19]

Rule 1 Citation, Application and Interpretation

Citation

Short Title
  •  (1) These rules may be cited as the Criminal Proceedings Rules for the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario).

Subdivision
  • (2) In these Rules,

    • (a) all the provisions identified by the same number to the left of the decimal point comprise a Rule (for example, Rule 1, which consists of rules 1.01 to 1.06);

    • (b) a provision identified by a number with a decimal point is a rule (for example, rule 1.01); and

    • (c) a rule may be subdivided into

      • (i) subrules (for example, subrule 1.01(1)),

      • (ii) paragraphs (for example, paragraph 1.01(2)(a) or 4.06(1)(b)), and

      • (iii) subparagraphs (for example, subparagraph 1.01(2)(c)(i) or 4.08(11)(a)(i)).

Alternative References
  • (3) In a proceeding in the court, it is sufficient to refer to a rule or subdivision of a rule as a “rule” followed by the number of the rule, subrule, paragraph or subparagraph (for example, rule 1.01, rule 1.01(2), rule l.01(2)(c), rule 1.01(2)(c)(iii)).

  • SI/2014-5, s. 1(E)

Application of Rules

Superior Court of Justice
  •  (1) These rules are enacted pursuant to subsection 482(1) of the Criminal Code and apply to prosecutions, proceedings, applications and appeals, as the case may be, within the jurisdiction of the Superior Court of Justice, instituted in relation to any matter of a criminal nature or arising from or incidental to any such prosecution, proceeding, application or appeal.

Parole Ineligibility Review Hearings
Transitional Provisions
  • SI/2014-5, s. 2

Definitions

 In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,

affidavit

affidavit means a written statement in Form 4 confirmed by oath, or a solemn affirmation; (affidavit)

appellant

appellant means a person who brings an appeal; (appelant)

applicant

applicant means a person who makes an application; (requérant)

application

application means a proceeding commenced by notice of application in Form 1, whether described in the enabling legislation or other authority as an application or motion; (demande)

Charter

Charter means the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; (Charte)

Code

Code means Criminal Code; (Code)

county

county includes a district or a regional, district or metropolitan municipality; (comté)

court

court means the Superior Court of Justice in the county or district in which a proceeding is pending or being heard, as the case may be; (tribunal)

court office

court office means the office of the registrar in the county, district or group of counties in which the proceeding is commenced; (greffe)

deliver

deliver means serve and file with proof of service, and delivery has a corresponding meaning; (remettre)

document

document includes a notice of application, notice of appeal, supplementary notice of appeal, affidavit or any other material required or permitted to be served and filed under these rules; (document)

hearing

hearing means the hearing of an application, motion, reference, appeal or assessment of costs, or a trial; (audience)

holiday

holiday means,

  • (i) any Saturday or Sunday,

  • (ii) New Year’s Day,

  • (iii) Good Friday,

  • (iv) Easter Monday,

  • (v) Victoria Day,

  • (vi) Canada Day,

  • (vii) Civic Holiday,

  • (viii) Labour Day,

  • (ix) Thanksgiving Day,

  • (x) Remembrance Day,

  • (xi) Christmas Day,

  • (xii) Boxing Day, and

  • (xiii) any special holiday proclaimed by the Governor General or the Lieutenant Governor, and

  • (xiv) where New Year’s Day, Canada Day or Remembrance Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is a holiday, and where Christmas Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday and Tuesday are holidays, and where Christmas Day falls on a Friday, the following Monday is a holiday; (jour férié)

indictment

indictment includes an information; (acte d’accusation)

judge

judge means a judge of the court; (juge)

judgment

judgment means a decision that finally disposes of an application, trial, appeal or other proceeding on its merits and includes a judgment entered in consequence of the default of a party; (jugement)

order

order includes a judgment; (ordonnance)

originating process

originating process includes a notice of application and notice of appeal; (acte introductif d’instance)

proceeding

proceeding includes a trial, application, appeal or other hearing; ( instance)

prosecutor

prosecutor means the Attorney General or, where the Attorney General does not intervene, means the person who institutes proceedings to which the Code applies, and includes solicitors acting on behalf of either of them; (poursuivant)

registrar

registrar means the Registrar of the Superior Court of Justice, or a local registrar of the Superior Court of Justice, as the circumstances may require; (greffier)

region

region means a region described in Ontario Regulation 705/89; (région)

respondent

respondent means a person against whom an application is made or an appeal is brought, as the circumstances may require; (intimé)

solicitor

solicitor means a barrister and solicitor entitled to practise in the Province of Ontario; (avocat)

solicitor of record

solicitor of record means the solicitor who represents or represented the accused in the proceedings that are the subject of the application or the appeal; (procureur)

statute

statute includes the Code and any other statute passed by the Parliament of Canada to which the Code provisions apply. (loi)

Interpretation

General Principle
  •  (1) These rules are intended to provide for the just determination of every criminal proceeding, and shall be liberally construed to secure simplicity in procedure, fairness in administration and the elimination of unjustifiable expense and delay.

Matters Not Provided For
  • (2) Where matters are not provided for in these rules, the practice shall be determined by analogy to them.

Party Acting in Person
  • (3) Where an accused is not represented by a solicitor but acts in person, anything that these rules require or permit a solicitor to do shall be done by the accused.

Application of Code Provisions

 The interpretation sections of the Code apply to these rules.

Forms

 The forms prescribed in the Appendix of Forms shall be used where applicable and with such variations as the circumstances require.

Rule 2 Non-Compliance with the Rules

Court May Dispense with Compliance

 A judge of the court may only dispense with compliance with any rule where and to the extent it is necessary in the interests of justice to do so.

Rule 3 Time

Computation

  •  (1) In the computation of time under these rules or an order, except where a contrary intention appears,

    • (a) where there is a reference to a number of days between two events, they shall be counted by excluding the day on which the first event happens and including the day on which the second event happens, even if they are described as clear days or the words “at least” are used;

    • (b) where a period of less than 7 days is prescribed, holidays shall not be counted;

    • (c) where the time for doing an act under these rules expires on a holiday, the act may be done on the next day that is not a holiday; and

    • (d) service of a document, other than an originating process, made after 4 p.m. or at any time on a holiday shall be deemed to have been made on the next day that is not a holiday.

  • (2) Where a time of day is mentioned in these rules or in any document in a proceeding, the time referred to shall be taken as the time observed locally.

Extension or Abridgment

General Powers of Court
  •  (1) Subject to subrule (3), the court may by order extend or abridge any time prescribed by these rules or an order in accordance with rule 2.01, on such terms as are just.

  • (2) An application for an order extending time may be made before or after the expiration of the time prescribed.

Consent in Writing
  • (3) Any time prescribed by these rules for serving, filing or delivering a document may be extended or abridged by consent in writing endorsed on the relevant document by the party to whom the document is intended, or in such other form as a judge of the court may direct.

Rule 4 Court Documents

Format

 Every document in a proceeding shall be of good quality paper 216 millimetres by 279 millimetres in size and the text shall be printed, typewritten, written or reproduced legibly on one side only with double spaces between the lines and a margin of approximately 40 millimetres on the left-hand side.

Contents

General Heading
  •  (1) Every document in a proceeding shall have a heading in accordance with Form 1 (applications) or 2 (appeals) that sets out:

    • (a) the name of the court and the court file number; and,

    • (b) the title of the proceeding in accordance with rule 6 (application) or rule 40 (appeal), but in a document other than an originating process, record, order or report, where there are more than two parties to the proceeding, a short title showing the names of the first party on each side followed by the words “and others” may be used.

Body of Document
  • (2) Every document in a proceeding shall contain:

    • (a) the title of the document;

    • (b) its date;

    • (c) where the document is filed by a party and not issued by a registrar or is an originating process, the name, address and telephone number of the solicitor filing the document or, where a party acts in person, his or her name, address for service and telephone number; and

    • (d) where the document is issued by a registrar, the address of the court office in which the proceeding was commenced.

Backsheet
  • (3) Every document in a proceeding shall have a backsheet in accordance with Form 3 that sets out:

    • (a) the short title of the proceeding;

    • (b) the name of the court and the court file number;

    • (c) in the case of an affidavit, the deponent’s name and the date when he or she swore or affirmed it;

    • (d) the location of the court office in which the proceeding was commenced;

    • (e) the title of the document; and

    • (f) the name, address and telephone number of the solicitor serving or filing the document or, where a party acts in person, his or her name, address for service and telephone number.

Certified Copies of Court Documents

 At the request of a person entitled to see a document in a court file and on payment of the prescribed fee, the registrar shall issue a certified copy of the document.

 

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