Federal Courts Rules (SOR/98-106)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 These Rules may be cited as the Federal Courts Rules.

PART 1Application and Interpretation

Application

Marginal note:Application

• 1.1 (1) These Rules apply to all proceedings in the Federal Court of Appeal and the Federal Court unless otherwise provided by or under an Act of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Inconsistency with Act

  (2) In the event of any inconsistency between these Rules and an Act of Parliament or a regulation made under such an Act, that Act or regulation prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 The following definitions apply in these Rules.

Act

Act means the Federal Courts Act. (Loi)

action

action means a proceeding referred to in rule 169. (action)

address for service

address for service means a party’s address for service under rule 126.1. (adresse aux fins de signification)

Administrator

Administrator means the Chief Administrator appointed under section 5 of the Courts Administration Service Act, or a person acting on his or her behalf. (administrateur)

Admiralty action

Admiralty action means an action in which the Court exercises jurisdiction under section 22 of the Act. (action en matière d’amirauté)

appeal

appeal means a proceeding referred to in rule 335. (appel)

applicant

applicant

• (a) except in the case of an application that has been certified as a class proceeding, includes a person on whose behalf an application is commenced; and

• (b) in the case of an application that has been certified as a class proceeding, means

  • (i) in respect of the common questions of law or fact, the representative applicant, and

  • (ii) in respect of individual questions, the member to whom those questions apply. (demandeur)

application

application means a proceeding referred to in rule 300. (demande)

assessment officer

assessment officer means an officer of the Registry designated by an order of the Court, a judge or a prothonotary, and includes, in respect of a reference, the referee presiding in the reference. (officier taxateur)

business day

business day[Repealed, SOR/2015-21, s. 1]

case management judge

case management judge means a judge assigned under paragraph 383(a) or rule 383.1 and includes a prothonotary assigned under paragraph 383(b). (juge responsable de la gestion de l’instance)

certified copy

certified copy, in respect of a document in the custody of the Registry, means a copy of the document certified by an officer of the Registry. (copie certifiée conforme)

Christmas recess

Christmas recess[Repealed, SOR/2021-244, s. 1]

Court

Court means, as the circumstances require,

• (a) the Federal Court of Appeal, including, in respect of a motion, a single judge of that court; or

• (b) the Federal Court, including a prothonotary acting within the jurisdiction conferred under these Rules. (Cour)

Court file

Court file means the file maintained pursuant to rule 23 or 24. (dossier de la Cour)

dispute resolution conference

dispute resolution conference means a conference ordered under rule 386. (conférence de règlement des litiges)

filed

filed, in respect of a document, means accepted for filing under rule 72. (déposé)

garnishee

garnishee means a person in respect of whom an order attaching a debt to a judgment debtor has been made under rule 449. (tiers saisi)

Hague Convention

Hague Convention means the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters signed at The Hague on November 15, 1965. (Convention de La Haye)

hearing

hearing includes a conference held under these Rules. (audience)

holiday

holiday means

• (a) a Saturday;

• (b) a holiday as defined in subsection 35(1) of the Interpretation Act;

• (c) if New Year’s Day, Canada Day or Remembrance Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday;

• (d) if Christmas Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday and Tuesday; and

• (e) if Christmas Day falls on a Friday, the following Monday. (jour férié)

intervener

intervener means a person who has been granted status as an intervener under rule 109. (intervenant)

issued

issued means

• (a) in respect of an originating document, dated, signed, sealed with the seal of the Court and assigned a Court file number by the Administrator; and

• (b) in respect of any other document, dated, signed and sealed with the seal of the Court by the Administrator. (délivré)

local office

local office means an office of the Registry of the Court established by the Administrator other than the principal office. (bureau local)

motion

motion means a request to the Court under, or to enforce, these Rules. (requête)

oath

oath includes a solemn affirmation within the meaning of subsection 14(1) of the Canada Evidence Act. (serment)

order

order includes

• (a) a judgment;

• (b) a decision or other disposition of a tribunal; and

• (c) a determination of a reference under section 18.3 of the Act. (ordonnance)

originating document

originating document means a document referred to in rule 63. (acte introductif d’instance)

party

party means

• (a) in respect of an action, a plaintiff, defendant or third party;

• (b) in respect of an application,

  • (i) where a tribunal brings a reference under section 18.3 of the Act, a person who becomes a party in accordance with rule 323,

  • (ii) where the Attorney General of Canada brings a reference under section 18.3 of the Act, the Attorney General of Canada and any other person who becomes a party in accordance with rule 323, and

  • (iii) in any other case, an applicant or respondent;

• (c) in respect of an appeal, an appellant or respondent; and

• (d) in respect of a motion, the person bringing the motion or a respondent thereto. (parties)

person

person includes a tribunal, an unincorporated association and a partnership. (personne)

plaintiff

plaintiff

• (a) except in the case of an action that has been certified as a class proceeding, includes a person on whose behalf an action is commenced; and

• (b) in the case of an action that has been certified as a class proceeding, means

  • (i) in respect of the common questions of law or fact, the representative plaintiff, and

  • (ii) in respect of individual questions, the member to whom those questions apply. (demandeur)

pleading

pleading means a document in a proceeding in which a claim is initiated, defined, defended or answered. (acte de procédure)

principal office

principal office means the head office of the Registry of the Court established by the Administrator. (bureau principal)

referee

referee means a person to whom a matter has been referred under rule 153. (arbitre)

Registry

Registry[Repealed, SOR/2004-283, s. 3]

seasonal recess

seasonal recess means the period beginning on December 21 in a year and ending on January 7 in the following year. (vacances judiciaires saisonnières)

sheriff

sheriff includes a marshal, peace officer or other person to whom a writ, warrant or other process is directed and, in the Province of Quebec, a member of the Ordre professionnel des huissiers de justice du Québec. (shérif)

simplified action

simplified action means an action referred to in rule 292. (action simplifiée)

solicitor

solicitor means a person referred to in subsection 11(3) of the Act. (avocat)

solicitor of record

solicitor of record means a solicitor of record as described in rule 123 or 124. (avocat inscrit au dossier)

specially managed proceeding

specially managed proceeding means a proceeding managed in accordance with rules 383 to 385. (instance à gestion spéciale)

statement of claim

statement of claim means a document by which an action is commenced. (déclaration)

summer recess

summer recess means the months of July and August in each year. (vacances judiciaires d’été)

swear

swear, in respect of an oath, includes affirm. (Version anglaise seulement)

third party

third party includes a fourth or subsequent party. (tierce partie)

tribunal

tribunal has the same meaning as federal board, commission or other tribunal in the Act. (Version anglaise seulement)

unincorporated association

unincorporated association means an organization of two or more persons, other than a partnership, that operates under a common name for a common purpose or undertaking. (association sans personnalité morale)

writ of execution

writ of execution includes a writ of seizure and sale, a writ of possession, a writ of delivery and a writ of sequestration, and any further writ in aid thereof. (bref d’exécution)

Marginal note:General principle

3 These Rules shall be interpreted and applied

• (a) so as to secure the just, most expeditious and least expensive outcome of every proceeding; and

• (b) with consideration being given to the principle of proportionality, including consideration of the proceeding’s complexity, the importance of the issues involved and the amount in dispute.

Marginal note:Matters not provided for

4 On motion, the Court may provide for any procedural matter not provided for in these Rules or in an Act of Parliament by analogy to these Rules or by reference to the practice of the superior court of the province to which the subject-matter of the proceeding most closely relates.

Marginal note:Forms

5 Where these Rules require that a form be used, the form may incorporate any variations that the circumstances require.

Computation, Extension and Abridgement of Time

Marginal note:Interpretation Act

• 6 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the computation of time under these Rules, or under an order of the Court, is governed by sections 26 to 30 of the Interpretation Act.

• Marginal note:Period of less than seven days

  (2) Where a period of less than seven days is provided for in these Rules or fixed by an order of the Court, a day that is a holiday shall not be included in computing the period.

• Marginal note:Seasonal recess

  (3) Unless otherwise directed by the Court, a day that falls within the seasonal recess shall not be included in the computation of time for filing, amending, transmitting or serving a document.