DIVISION I
CONSULTATION AND WITHDRAWAL OF A RECORD OR EXHIBIT

A record or exhibit may be consulted only in the presence of the clerk or a person designated by him.

A record may be withdrawn from the office of the court only at the request or with the authorization of the judge or the clerk.

A medical record and an expert opinion prepared by a physician, a psychologist or a social worker and filed in the record shall be kept in a sealed envelope and no one, except the parties or their attorneys, shall be allowed access without the permission of the court or a judge. Access to such documents includes the right to make copies thereof at the party’s expense.

DIVISION II
PLEADINGS AND EXHIBITS

All pleadings must be legibly written on one side of a sheet measuring 21.5 X 35.5 cm. The reverse side of the sheet must indicate the nature and subject of the pleading, the amount in dispute, the record number and the names of the parties, as well as the name, address, postal code, telephone number, fax number and computer code of the attorney of the party filing the pleading.

In the event that the party is representing himself, the attorney’s computer code and fax number are not required.

All pleadings filed by a party shall be signed by his attorney. In the event that this party is not represented by an attorney, his pleadings shall be signed by himself.

In all pleadings, the parties shall retain the same order and designation as in the procedure which instituted the proceedings.

In proceedings pending on 1 January 2003, all pleadings pertaining to the simplified procedure as well as the reverse side of such pleadings shall bear the heading "SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE" above “Court of Québec.”

Where a list of exhibits is submitted, that list shall enumerate and identify the exhibits to which it refers.

Each of these exhibits shall bear a number preceded by an identifying letter attributed to each party.

The record number and the classification code shall appear on the front of the exhibit, and on the reverse side where applicable.

The clerk who receives a pleading shall number it and mark upon it the date and time it was received, and record it in the plumitif.

When the record is forwarded to the court or the judge, an updated statement of the plumitif shall be filed therein and all prior statements destroyed.

Where a change is made to a pleading, all additions or substitutions must be underlined or indicated in the margin with a vertical stroke, and all deletions must be indicated with a dotted line between brackets.

Where it has been ordered that changes are to be made to a pleading, a new pleading incorporating said changes as provided in section 28 shall be filed in the record within the prescribed time.

DIVISION III
PLEADINGS PRESENTED TO THE PRACTICE DIVISION AND THOSE TO BE PRESENTED TO THE JUDGE ACTING IN CHAMBERS

30. All pleadings presented to the Practice Division or before a judge acting in chambers shall indicate the title, both on the reverse side and on the frontispiece, as well as the reference to the legislative or regulatory provision on which it is based.

A pleading intended for the Practice Division must be submitted to the office of the court one clear juridical day before the date of its presentation.

The notice of presentation must mention the time at which the pleading will be presented.

In cases of emergency, the judge may shorten this delay.

The motion to quash a seizure before judgment and the motion to quash an order rendered under article 2767 of the Civil Code of Québec because of the falsity of the allegations of the affidavit shall indicate those allegations that are being contested and set out the grounds for the contestation.

DIVISION IV
INSCRIPTION FOR JUDGMENT BY DEFAULT

An inscription for judgment by default to appear or to plead shall indicate the nature of the case and the amount in question.

DIVISION V
SPECIAL MOTIONS

Motion to schedule a case by preference

All applications to schedule a case by preference must be made in the form of a written motion giving the reasons in support thereof, and must be presented to the judge designated for such purpose.

Such applications may be made for cases due to their complexity, the number of witnesses, or any other exceptional circumstance.

Motion for recusation

In proceedings pending on 1 January 2003, the motion contemplated by article 238 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall be presented to the coordinating judge or the judge designated by him.

Motion for adjournment

No case set for proof and hearing shall be adjourned solely by the consent of the parties.

All motions for adjournment of a case set for proof and hearing shall be presented to a judge in writing, with the reasons in support thereof, at least eight days before the date set for the hearing.

Notwithstanding the time limit provided for in section 37, if the reasons for the adjournment are known less than eight days before the date set for the hearing, the coordinating judge, the associate coordinating judge or a judge designated by one of the former may receive an oral motion for adjournment, and make a decision in the best interests of justice.

Such motions may also be presented to the trial judge.

Motion for proof and hearing of a case in another district

A motion for proof and hearing of a case in another district shall be presented at the place where the proceedings were instituted and heard by the judge designated for this purpose.

Judicial district of Montréal

In the judicial district of Montréal, the motions provided for in this Division shall be presented to the associate coordinating judge or the designated judge on Thursdays at 2:15 p.m. in room 13.09 of the Courthouse of Montréal, subject to the power of the coordinating judge or the designated judge to decide otherwise.

These motions shall be filed with the office of the court no later than the day before the date set for the hearing.

DIVISION VI
INSCRIPTION FOR PROOF AND HEARING OF CONTESTED CASES

The inscription form is filed together with a declaration containing the following information:

(1) the names and addresses of the parties and, if they are represented by counsel, the names and addresses of their attorneys;
(2) a list of the exhibits communicated to the other parties;
(3) the expected length of the hearing; and
(4) a list of witnesses, except where there is reasonable cause not to disclose their names.

The inscription and the declaration must be notified to the other parties.

Within 30 days of inscription, each of the other parties must file a declaration containing the same information and notify it to the other parties.

42. Following the filing of the inscription, the attorneys shall:

(1) immediately notify the clerk of any proceeding which could modify the status of the record;
(2) notify the court as soon as any out-of-court settlement is reached and file the declaration recording that settlement in the record.

 

DIVISION VII
SENDING OF THE ROLL FOR PROOF AND HEARING

The sending to the attorneys, by the clerk, of the abstract of the roll concerning them constitutes the notice to the attorneys required by article 278 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

In proceedings pending on 1 January 2003, receipt of the abstract referred to in section 43 constitutes for the parties an express requirement, for the purposes of the second paragraph of article 331.7 of the Code of Civil Procedure (as it read before 1 January 2003), to file the exhibits and examinations on discovery at the office of the court within 15 days.

The clerk shall make an audio recording of the arguments and addresses.

When the services of a stenographer are required, he shall proceed to the courtroom at the time the hearing begins and remain there until such time as he is released by the judge.

The stenographer shall record the arguments during the hearing. He shall also record the addresses, unless he is exempted from doing so by the judge or the parties’ attorneys.

48. Any person may obtain from the clerk, upon payment of a fee, a copy of the audio recording of the hearing.

DIVISION IX
MINUTES OF THE HEARING

The clerk shall draw up the minutes of the hearing, in which he shall enter:

(1) the record number;
(2) the identification number of the tape reel, where applicable;
(3) the names of the parties in the case;
(4) the presence or absence of any party;
(5) the names of the attorneys, their computer codes and the parties they are representing;
(6) the name of the judge presiding over the hearing;
(7) the names of the clerk and the stenographer, where applicable;
(8) the date and time of the beginning and the end of the hearing and, where applicable, the tape position numbers;
(9) the nature of the case and the amount of the claim, where applicable;
(10) the name, age and address of each witness, as well as the name of the party calling them to testify;
(11) the code and the description of all the exhibits filed;
(12) the conclusions of any judgment, order or measure rendered at the hearing by the judge;
(13) the grounds for any decision pertaining to a motion for adjournment;
(14) the different stages of the proceedings, indicating the time and, where applicable, the tape position numbers.

 

DIVISION X
ORAL OR WRITTEN ADDRESSES

A party who relies on a judgment or legal doctrine shall provide a copy thereof to the judge and the parties, indicate the relevant pages and mark the passages quoted.

A party who relies on regulatory or legislative provisions other than those of the Civil Code or the Code of Civil Procedure shall provide a copy thereof to the judge and the parties.

DIVISION XI
JUDGMENTS AND ADVISEMENTS

Before submitting a record to the judge for purposes of advisement, the clerk shall ensure that it is complete. If the record is incomplete, the clerk must notify the attorneys of this fact so that they may take the necessary action to complete it.

No case shall be taken under advisement until the record has been duly completed, unless the judge decides otherwise.

Where the proof heard out of court under article 196 of the Code of Civil Procedure has been filed in the record, the clerk must, if he does not have the authority to render a judgment and the court does not sit in the district, transmit the record to the judge who authorized the proof to be heard out of court.

A judgment that is written and signed on a pleading presented to the judge does not need to be written and signed again separately. An authentic copy thereof may be issued by the clerk.

Should the parties fail to complete the proof or the record within the time fixed by the judge during the hearing of a case whether it is being contested or not, the judge may remove himself from the record or render a judgment in accordance with the record as it is constituted or render any other order he considers appropriate.

DIVISION XII
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO CASES APPEALED FROM BEFORE THE COURT OF QUÉBEC

This Division applies to cases appealed from before the Court of Québec, except for appeals that lie from decisions of the Régie du logement.

Within 60 days following the filing of the proceeding which institutes the appeal or the judgment authorizing the appeal, the coordinating judge, the associate coordinating judge or the judge designated for this purpose shall contact or summon the parties and, after having heard the representations of the parties or their attorneys:

(1) decide upon the appropriate means to simplify the proceeding and shorten the hearing, including the advisability of admitting some fact or document and supplying the list of authorities the parties intend to submit;
(2) establish, where applicable, a schedule for the filing of the factums;
(3) set the date of the hearing.

DIVISION XIII
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO APPEALS THAT LIE FROM DECISIONS OF THE RÉGIE DU LOGEMENT

This Division applies to the appeals provided for in sections 91 to 107 of the Act respecting the Régie du logement (R.S.Q., c. R-8.1).

Any pleading, except for those provided for in Book IV of the Code of Civil Procedure, pertaining to an appeal, shall be served in the manner provided for in articles 120 to 146 of the Code, or by registered or certified mail with notice of receipt or delivery, with no requirement to obtain the authorization provided for in article 138 of the Code.

The motion for leave to appeal must indicate the questions that the petitioner intends to submit to the court.

The clerk shall transmit the judgment authorizing the appeal without delay to the Régie du logement and the parties. Within 15 days of receipt of this judgment, the Régie shall transmit a true copy of the record in its possession to the office of the court.

The ordinary procedure in courts of first instance, provided for in Book II of the Code of Civil Procedure, shall apply to the appeal insofar as it is not incompatible with the Act respecting the Régie du logement.

Under the authority of the coordinating judge or the associate coordinating judge, the clerk shall list the cases inscribed for proof and hearing on a special roll.

A party who wishes to call a witness to testify may do so by a summons to appear issued in accordance with article 280 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The service is made at the expense of this party.

As soon as the judgment is filed with the office of the court, the clerk shall send a copy thereof to the parties and to the Régie du logement.

The provisions set out in Divisions I to XII of this Chapter shall apply to this Division, with the necessary modifications.