When it comes to scheduling a date with the courts and subsequently serving and filing materials, you must first consult your region's Practice Directions. These handy guides provide detailed steps to ensure your date is secured and your materials are provided to opposing counsel and your presiding Judge.
The Superior Court of Justice is divided into eight different regions, each with their own Practice Direction:
- Central East: Barrie/Bracebridge, Newmarket, Oshawa, and Peterborough/Cobourg/Lindsay,
- Central South: Hamilton, Kitchener, St. Catherines, Welland, Brantford, Simcoe, and Cayuga
- Central West: Brampton, Orangeville, Guelph, Milton, and Owen Sound/Walkerton,
- East: Ottawa, Kingston, Belleville, Brockville, Cornwall, L'Orignal, Napanee, Pembroke, Perth, and Picton
- Northeast: Sudbury, Cochrane/Timmins, Gore Bay, Haileybury, North Bay, Parry Sound, and Sault Ste. Marie
- Northwest: Thunder Bay, Kenora, and Fort Frances
- Southwest: Chatham/Kent, Goderich/Huron, London/Middlesex, Sarnia/Lambton, St. Thomas/Elgin, Stratford/ Perth, Windsor/Essex, and Woodstock/Oxford
- Toronto: This region of the Superior Court of Justice includes the Estates List, Civil List, and Family List. Importantly, each of these lists have their own practice direction.
Practice Directions provide an up-to-date overview of the court's scheduling, filing and administrative procedures. Importantly, these directions are separated by the subject of the matter, such as civil law, family law, and criminal law.
While each court will have varying directions, there are some consistencies across the regions, such as:
- Using Calendly to schedule select hearing and conference dates
- Using Justice Services Online ('JSO') Portal for filing materials with the court
- Uploading materials to Case Centre so that all counsel, self-represented parties, and Judges can access them
If you find that a region's Practice Direction does not adequately address your questions, you can do the following:
- Consult the consolidated Provincial Practice Directions
- Contact the court's administration and ask them to clarify their scheduling and filing procedures
- Review the Rules of Civil Procedure
*(When in doubt, it is always best practice to review the Rules. They govern the entire Superior Court of Justice and are the basis of all region's court procedures.)
Remember to always read the most recent iteration of a region's Practice Directions and Notices to the Profession. These guides are often amended to reflect updates to court's scheduling and filing procedures.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
