Rules of Practice in Criminal Matters in the Court of Appeal of Quebec(Section 482 of the Criminal Code)

SI/83-107, (1983) 117 Canada Gazette, Part II, 2383.

I — OFFICE OF THE COURT

• 1 The office of the court shall be located in Quebec and in Montreal. It shall be open on juridical days from Monday to Friday, from eight-thirty in the morning until four-thirty in the afternoon.

• 2 The clerk shall not give up possession of a document in a file without a receipt from counsel of one of the parties.

The clerk shall furnish copies thereof at the expense of the party requesting them.

• 3 The clerk shall keep up to date a register in which, for each case, the following information is entered:

  — the names and addresses of the parties and of their counsel;

  — the date of receipt of the notice of appeal or of the motion for leave to appeal and of the judgment which decides the latter and also, where applicable, the date of the order for the appellant’s release from custody pending the determination of her or his appeal;

  — the date of the appearance of the respondent;

  — the date of filing of the factum of each party;

  — the date of filing of the certificate of readiness;

  — the date when the case is taken under advisement and the date of the judgment, as well as the number given to the judgment;

  — the date of every other proceeding and, if applicable, the date of the decision thereon;

  — relevant information with respect to the requirement of the second paragraph of Rule 19.

  TR/SI/83-107;TR/SI/93-218.

  II — NOTICE OF APPEAL, MOTION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL AND OTHER MOTIONS

a. proceedings

• 4 The notice of appeal and, where applicable, the motion for leave to appeal must be signed by the appellant or her or his counsel and contain the following information:

  — the offence charged;

  — the sentence imposed, where applicable;

  — the date of the verdict, the judgment and the sentence, according to the case;

  — the place of trial;

  — the court of first instance and the number of the file;

  — the grounds of appeal and the conclusions sought, stated concisely but precisely;

  — the addresses of the appellant and her or his counsel;

  — the name and address of the respondent and, where applicable, of other parties and of their counsel at first instance.

• 5 An appellant who seeks her or his release from custody pending the determination of her or his appeal must attach to her or his application an affidavit attesting to the following facts:

  — her or his places of abode in the three years preceding her or his conviction and where she or he proposes to reside if released;

  — her or his employment, if any, prior to conviction and her or his intended employment and employer if released;

  — her or his criminal record, if any, including convictions outside Canada;

  — whether criminal charges are, at the time of the application, pending against her or him, either in Canada or elsewhere;

  — whether or not she or he has a passport.

  The judge who hears the application may dispense with the filing of the affidavit referred to above, and may act upon a statement of facts agreed upon in writing by counsel for the appellant and for the Attorney General.

• 6 An application for release from custody pending an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada must be accompanied by a certificate from the Registrar of the Supreme Court, attesting to the fact that a motion for leave to appeal or a notice of appeal has been filed.

• 7 Every motion which alleges facts which do not appear in the record must be supported by an affidavit by someone who has personal knowledge of those facts.

• 8 The size of the paper shall be 21.5 cm × 35.5 cm.

• 9 In every proceeding, the case heading shall include, in the following order, the names of the appellant, of the respondent and, if applicable, of the other parties. Under the name of each party, there must be indicated her or his position in appeal, in capital letters, and in first instance, in small letters.

The case heading shall remain the same in all proceedings during the appeal.

• 10 The title of a motion, appearing on the back and on the first page of the proceeding, shall indicate the position in appeal of the party presenting it, followed by a precise reference to the texts of law or regulations upon which it is based.

• 11 Every motion must be accompanied by a copy for each judge to whom it is presented.

The same rule shall apply to proceedings, exhibits, depositions, minutes or extracts from these documents and to judgments rendered in the case on which the petitioner relies.

11a. In the event of an amendment to a proceeding, the additions or replacements must be underlined or indicated in the margin by a vertical line, and deletions must be indicated by means of dots between brackets.

b. forming the appeal

• 12 An appeal, as well as a motion for leave to appeal, against a conviction, an acquittal or sentence shall be inscribed within thirty days from the verdict or judgment.

• 13 The original of the notice of appeal or of the motion for leave to appeal, a copy for the clerk of this Court, two copies for the clerk of the court of first instance, a copy for the respondent and, where applicable, a copy for each other party shall be filed in the appropriate office of the Court.

• 14 In case of an appeal by the Attorney General, the notice of appeal or the motion for leave to appeal must be served on the respondent personally, either before or after filing, unless a judge of this Court orders otherwise.

• 15 Where a motion for leave to appeal is granted, it serves as the notice of appeal without any further formality.

• 16 Upon receipt of a notice of appeal or of a motion for leave to appeal, where the Attorney General is the respondent, the clerk shall transmit a copy thereof to the office of the Attorney General’s prosecutors for the appeal district where the trial took place or to the office of counsel who acted for the respondent in first instance, and to the other parties, if there be any; she or he shall also transmit to the clerk of the court of first instance two copies of the notice of appeal or of the motion for leave to appeal, once it is granted.

c. service, filing and presentation of motions

• 17 Except where otherwise provided, motions are served in the ordinary manner or by registered mail; in the latter case, service is deemed to have been effected on the fourth juridical day after mailing.

• 18 A motion by the Crown to dismiss an appeal must be served on the appellant personally, unless a judge of this Court orders otherwise.

• 19 Motions presented to the Court must be served and filed at least five clear juridical days before the day fixed for their presentation.

Before serving and filing a motion to be presented to the Court, the party shall settle with the clerk the date of its presentation.

In the case of a motion presented to a single judge, a notice of presentation of at least two clear juridical days shall be given; there shall be one clear juridical day between the day the motion is filed and the day it is presented; it shall be presented no later than eight days after service.

• 20 Revoked.

III — APPEARANCE

• 21 Counsel representing parties other than the appellant must produce an appearance within ten days from the formation of the appeal.

IV — PREPARATION OF RECORD

• 22 Upon receipt of the copies of the notice of appeal or, where granted, of the motion for leave to appeal, the clerk of the court of first instance shall:

  — transmit a copy of the notice of appeal to the trial judge;

  — after consultation with the parties or their counsel and, unless they renounce, take the necessary steps to obtain, as soon as possible, a complete transcript of the proceedings, omitting, however, the following:

— all proceedings on the challenge of the array or of jurors;

— any opening address of the trial judge;

— the opening and closing addresses of counsel;

— all objections to the admissibility of evidence, excepting a notation that an objection was made and the ruling thereon, together with the judge’s reasons, if any be given;

— the minutes of the proceedings.

The clerk of the court of first instance shall, at the request of a judge of the Court of Appeal, transmit without delay the record of the case to the appeal office, together with a list of the documents therein and a copy of the entries made in the registers.

A party may ask a judge that one or more of the proceedings ordinarily omitted be transcribed.

• 23 The clerk of the court of first instance shall inform the parties and the clerk of the Court of Appeal that the record is complete, allowing for the appellant to take possession of the same in order to prepare her or his factum.

• 24 Where costs are exigible for the preparation of transcripts, the clerk of the court of first instance may require that they be paid for in advance; in any event, the transcripts shall not be remitted until the costs have been paid.

V — THE FACTUM

• 25 The appellant must file within 60 days from the mailing of the notice mentioned in rule 23, seven copies of her or his factum in the office of the court and serve two copies of it on the respondent.

  TR/SI/83-107;TR/SI/87-255;TR/SI/93-218.

• 26 The respondent must file, within 60 days from the filing of the appellant’s factum, seven copies of her or his factum and serve two copies of it on the appellant.

  TR/SI/83-107;TR/SI/87-255;TR/SI/93-218.

• 27 If the appellant does not file her or his factum within the delay fixed, the Court may, on motion, dismiss the appeal. At the expiry of the delay allowed for the filing of the respondent’s factum, the provisions of Rules 36, 37 and 38 apply.

  TR/SI/83-107;TR/SI/87-255.

• 28 The contents of the factum shall be divided into five parts, identified by Roman numerals. Unless a judge on motion permits otherwise, the first four parts together must not exceed thirty pages.

   SI/2000-106, s. 1.

PART IFacts

In this part, the appellant shall set forth the facts succinctly. The respondent shall indicate her or his position with regard to the appellant’s statement of the facts and, if need be, shall state the other facts which she or he deems relevant.

PART IIQuestions in Dispute and Grounds of Appeal

In this part, the appellant shall list the questions in dispute and her or his grounds of appeal; the respondent shall indicate her or his position in regard thereto, following the order adopted by the appellant and shall list, if need be, the other points which she or he intends to argue.

An appellant who wishes to urge grounds of appeal not set out in her or his notice of appeal shall so state in her or his factum and clearly set out the new grounds. If one or more of these grounds require leave of a judge, she or he must mention this fact.

PART IIIArgument

In this part, the parties shall develop each of the factual and legal grounds raised, with precise references to the annexes.

PART IVConclusions

The parties shall formulate precisely the conclusions sought.

PART VAuthorities

The parties shall supply, both for the case law and the doctrine, a list of the authorities, drawn up in the order in which they are referred to in the factum, with mention of the pages of the factum where the references appear.

ANNEXES

• 29 The factum of the appellant shall also include schedules, comprising two parts.

The first part shall include:

• (a) the notice of appeal and, if applicable, the permission to appeal with the motion requesting it;

• (b) the charge as drafted;

• (c) the judgment appealed from and, where applicable, the reasons, and also the judge’s charge;

• (d) the report of the judge at first instance prepared in conformity with section 682 of the Criminal Code.

The second part shall include only those exhibits and depositions, or extracts from exhibits or depositions, necessary for the examination of the questions in dispute.

• 30 The factum of the respondent shall include in the schedules only the material which she or he deems necessary for the examination of the questions in dispute and which has not been included by the appellant.

• 31 At the end of the schedules, counsel shall certify that the factum and the schedules are in conformity with the present Rules.

• 32 The form of the factum and of the schedules shall be subject to the following Rules:

  • (1) The colour of the covers shall vary with the party; yellow for the appellant, green for the respondent and grey for all other parties.

  • (2) The front cover shall contain the following information:

— the number given to the file and the clerk;

— the court of first instance which rendered the judgment appealed from, the judicial district, the name of the judge, the date of the judgment, as well as the number of the file;

— the names of the appellant, of the respondent and, if applicable, of the other parties, in that order; under the name of each party there must be indicated her or his position in the appeal, in capital letters, and in first instance, in small letters;

— the identification of the factum according to the position of the party who produces it;

— the name or names of counsel.

• (3) Each volume of the factum and of the annexes shall include, at the front, a general table of contents. The pagination shall be in the upper left corner of each page. If there is more than one volume, the number of each one and the series of pages contained in each one shall be printed on the front cover and on the lower edge of the volumes.

• (4) In the annexes, each exhibit or extract from an exhibit shall begin on a new page, bearing at the top the date, in cases which permit of it, the nature and the number of the exhibit. The exhibits shall be reproduced, so far as possible, in chronological order rather than in the order of production in first instance.

• (5) In the annexes, the depositions or extracts from depositions shall each begin on a new page, showing at the top the name of the witness in capital letters followed, the first time only and in brackets, by her or his given name, age, occupation and residence. This title shall be completed by abbreviated mention of:

— the name of the party who called the witness;

— the fact that the testimony was not given at trial, if applicable;

— the stage of the hearing (proof, defence, rebuttal);

— the stage of the examination (examination, cross-examination, re-examination).

• 33 The factum and the schedules shall be bound so that the text is printed only on the pages on the left side. The text shall be presented with the lines at least one and one-half lines apart, except for quotations which shall be indented and single-spaced. The text shall be in 10-point type, neither smaller than elite type nor larger than pica type and, when computer prepared, in 12-point type.

They shall be presented on white paper of good quality, size 21,5 cm × 28 cm. Each page shall contain approximately fifty lines, numbered in the left margin every ten lines. Each volume must not include more than 225 pages.

• 34 A party relying on the provisions of a regulation or statute other than those of the Constitution Act, 1982, the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Food and Drugs Act and the Young Offenders Act, must reproduce them in her or his factum or furnish a copy thereof to each of the judges seized of the matter.

Any party is free to file a book of authorities in which the relevant excerpts shall be highlighted. Such a book shall be served on all other parties and filed in three copies with the office of the Court as soon as possible before the date fixed for the hearing of the appeal or of the motion; if the motion is intended for a single judge, it is sufficient to file one copy of the book of authorities.

• 35 Any factum not in conformity with the law or with these Rules shall be refused by the clerk as soon as possible after its submission. The clerk shall so notify the counsels and the parties that are not represented by counsel. A factum that is refused is deemed not to have been filed, unless the irregularity is rectified within a time period that is fixed by the clerk. The period shall be just in the circumstances, but not exceed seven days after the notification of the refusal by the clerk.

A decision by the clerk to refuse a factum may be reviewed by a judge upon motion of refusal presented within 15 days after the notification.

VI — CERTIFICATE OF READINESS

• 36 The certificate of readiness in the form set out in Schedule A, must be produced by the appellant at the office of the court within fifteen days following the expiry of the delay allowed for the filing of the respondent’s factum. It shall be signed by counsel for the parties or by the parties themselves, if they are not represented by counsel. It shall indicate the name of counsel in charge of the file.

  TR/SI/83-107;TR/SI/87-255.

• 37 If either party fails to sign the certificate, the other party may request the clerk to put the case on the roll. Such request shall be made in writing, accompanied by the certificate signed by the party who is ready, and it shall be served on the opposite party.

• 38 A request that a case be placed on the roll, if filed at least one clear juridical day previously, shall be presented to the clerk on Tuesday morning, from 10 o’clock on.

VII — ROLL OF HEARING

• 39 The clerk shall prepare the roll for hearing, observing to the extent possible the order of filing of the certificates of readiness, subject to the priorities provided by law or granted by the chief justice or a judge named by her or him.

• 40 There shall be placed on the roll only those cases which are ready for hearing at least fifty days before the beginning of the term.

• 41 The clerk shall, under the supervision of the chief justice or of a judge named by her or him, indicate the time allotted for the argument of each party in each case.

• 42 At least thirty days before the beginning of the term, the clerk shall forward copies of the roll to counsel of the parties, or to the parties themselves, if they are not represented by counsel, at the addresses indicated on the certificates. She or he shall also display a copy thereof at the office of the court. These two formalities constitute notice of the date fixed for hearing.

• 42.1 [Repealed, SI/2000-106, s. 5]

VIII — DESISTMENT

• 43 An appellant who wishes to desist from her or his appeal must file a desistment, signed by herself or himself or her or his counsel. In the first case, the signature of the appellant is attested to by an oath in writing or by the countersignature of an advocate; where the appellant is detained, it is attested to by an officer of the detention centre.

A judge may then, even in the absence of the parties or their counsel, confirm the desistment.

IX — ABANDONED APPEALS

• 44 If the appeal is not ready to be put on the roll within one year from the production of the notice of appeal, the clerk shall notify the parties and their counsel that, on a date not less than sixty days thence, the case will appear on a special roll. This notice shall be sent by registered or certified mail, and it shall be sent to the address given in the notice of appeal, or as given in conformity with Rule 57. If the appeal is still not ready to be put on the regular roll on the date fixed in the notice, the Court, after giving the parties an opportunity to be heard, shall declare the appeal abandoned, unless cause is shown why it should not be, in which case the Court shall make any order it deems appropriate.

X — THE HEARING

• 45 Sittings of the Court shall begin at ten o’clock in the morning or at such other hour as the Court may fix.

  TR/SI/83-107;TR/SI/93-218.

• 46 In each term, cases shall be pleaded in the order in which they appear on the roll, unless the Court decides otherwise.

• 47 If none of the parties are ready to plead when a case is called, the Court shall strike the case from the roll or postpone the hearing.

If only the appellant is ready to plead, the Court shall hear the pleadings or postpone the case.

If only the respondent is ready to plead, the Court shall strike the case from the roll or postpone it. However, the Court may dismiss the appeal.

• 48 At the request of a party, a judge of the Court may, or, with the consent of all parties, the clerk may strike at any time a case from the roll and postpone the hearing to a subsequent session.

• 49 On the merits of the appeal, two counsels may be heard for each party, but only one may reply for the appellant. On a motion, only one counsel may be heard for each party, unless the Court permits otherwise.

• 50 At hearings before the Court, the following dress is obligatory:

  • (a) For Counsel, black gown, bands, white collar and dark suit;

  • (b) For articled students, black gown and dark suit;

  • (c) For clerks and for criers, black gown and dark suit.

• 51 The beginning and the ending of sittings of the Court and of a single judge shall be announced by the crier, who shall remain present during the entire hearing, unless the Court or a judge permits otherwise.

XI — APPEALS AGAINST SENTENCE

• 52 A single judge may refer to the Court a motion for leave to appeal against sentence.

If the Court grants the motion, it may at once hear the parties on the merits, and in that case factums are not required; it may also order, when it deems it appropriate, that the appeal be placed on the roll for a future session.

The single judge, who grants a motion for leave to appeal against sentence, may also refer the appeal to the Court, if the parties agree thereto, for it to be heard without factums, in accordance with Rules 52.1 and 52.2.

• 52.1 When a single judge fixes a date for hearing, the judge shall set the time limit for the filing of documents in lieu of parts one and two of the factum annexes. These documents may not be filed after the expiration of the time limit.

At the expiry of the time limit, if the documents have not been filed, the clerk shall file a certificate of default and thereafter refuse any document from the party in default. A notice of this certificate shall immediately be delivered to the Chief Justice and to the judges who are to hear the appeal.

On the day fixed for the hearing of the appeal, the Court may refuse to hear the party in default and may render judgment on the appeal.

• 52.2 The documents referred to in Rule 52.1, of which the appellant must file three copies with the office of the Court after service on the respondent, are:

  • (a) the motion for leave to appeal;

  • (b) the indictment;

  • (c) the sentence;

  • (d) the depositions on sentence, if any;

  • (e) the report of the judge of first instance, if any;

  • (f) any other pertinent remarks of the judge in the first instance or the counsel, made in the course of representations as to the sentence;

  • (g) the questionnaire, duly completed, in the form set out in Schedule B.

  TR/SI/93-218.

• 52.3 At least three weeks before the date fixed for the hearing of the appeal, the respondent shall also serve on the appellant the questionnaire duly completed by the respondent and file three copies of it with the office of the Court.

XII — SPECIAL DISPOSITIONS

• 53 Where the Court or a judge requests that the judge or magistrate who presided at the trial furnish a report on the case or on any matter relating to the case, the clerk shall, upon receipt of this report, transmit copies to all parties in the case.

• 54 These Rules apply, subject to such adaptations as may be necessary, to all proceedings before the Court which are covered by section 482 of the Criminal Code.

• 55 When a judgment is filed, the clerk shall send a copy, together with the written reasons of the judges, if there be any, to all the parties in the case or to their counsel and also to the judge of first instance.

• 56 Any time limited by these Rules may be extended or abridged by the Court or a judge, before or after the expiration of the time prescribed.

• 57 The parties and their counsels shall, without delay, advise the clerk of any change of address.

  SI/2000-106, s. 6.
• 58

  • (1) The Court may make any order that justice requires.

  • (2) A party may apply to the Chief Justice or a judge designated by the Chief Justice to request directions in relation to an appeal.

  • (3) The Chief Justice or a judge designated by the Chief Justice may, in the interests of justice, make any order or take any measure to accelerate the appeal procedure.

  SI/2000-106, s. 7.

• 59 Except when incompatible with the Criminal Code or the present Rules, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to appeals in criminal matters.

XIII — TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

• 60 The Rules which preceded the present Rules shall continue to be applied to appeals filed before the coming into force of the present Rules, but only insofar as they concern the preparation of the record and the production of the joint record and of the factums.

The parties may, however, agree to follow the present Rules; where that is the case, they must file in the office of the court a notice to this effect.

61-62. Omitted.