Montréal

(French only)

En cas d’urgence, un juge de garde est disponible en tout temps, en dehors des heures normales d'ouverture des tribunaux.

Pour le joindre, il faut contacter le Service de sécurité du palais, au 514 393-2819 qui à son tour, communiquera avec le greffier. Celui-ci communiquera directement avec la personne qui requiert l'intervention du juge de garde.

(French only)

Directives du district de Montréal en vigueur à compter du 1er janvier 2023

Annexe district Montréal 1 - Avis de présentation civile (salle 2.16)

Annexe district Montréal 2 - Consignes en matière civile - Appel du rôle (salle 2.16)

Annexe district Montréal 3 - Avis de présentation pratique familiale (salle 2.17)

Annexe district Montréal 4 - Consignes en matière familiale - Appel du rôle (salle 2.17)

Annexe district Montréal 5 - Instructions pour demande d'homologation ou de reconduction

Annexe district Montréal 6 - Déclaration  commune de dossier complet en matière commerciale

Also refer to the Montreal Division's directives, applicable in all districts:

Montreal's division Directives and Shedules starting January 1st, 2023

To view the communiqués applicable to all the districts, please see the Montreal's Division Communiqués.

Civil, Family, Commercial, Settlement Conferences and Class Actions Divisions

• Notice of Presentation Civil Practice (Courtroom 2.16)
• Notice of Presentation Family Practice (Courtroom 2.17) 

Forms applicable in this district are :

- In the schedule of the « Directives and Schedules for Montreal's District - January 1st, 2023 »:

• Avis de présentation civile (salle 2.16) (annexe district Montréal 1) 
• Avis de présentation pratique familiale (salle 2.17) (annexe district Montréal 3)
• Instructions pour demande d'homologation ou de reconduction (annexe district Montréal 5)
• Déclaration commune de dossier complet en matière commerciale (annexe district Montréal 6)

- In the schedule of the Directives and Schedules for Montreal's Division, here;

- Under the Â« Forms Â» section of the Montreal Division.

Civil Court Office 

Rolls Service 

For the specific directives of the Commercial Division, see the Directives du district de Montréal en vigueur à compter du 1er janvier 2023 (English version coming soon).

As soon as an application for authorization to institute a class action is filed at the Clerk’s Office, the coordinating judge for class actions must be notified of the application.

Cases in the Class Actions Division are assigned to a special case management judge until their trial readiness.

For the specific directives of the Class Actions Division, see the Directives du district de Montréal en vigueur à compter du 1er janvier 2023 (English version coming soon).

Registry of Class Actions

For more information regarding settlement conferences, please refer to the Settlement Conferences Division page.

Appeals in statutory and criminal matters

The Criminal and Penal Practice Division sits on fixed dates, determined each year by the coordinating judge for the Criminal Division.

Once an appeal has been filed and found to be in conformity with the Rules of Practice of the Court in Criminal and Penal Matters, the clerk places the case on the roll of the practice chamber ( courtroom 4.11) for the first Friday following the filling of the notice of appeal.

Once the file is complete (in other words, once the stenographic notes have been completed and a time has been set for submitting the notes and the list of case law and doctrine), the judge fixes a date for the hearing in the presence of the attorneys.

When filing a notice of appeal, you must take the necessary steps to have a transcript made of the evidence given in first instance. If, in exceptional circumstances, you wish to be exempted from submitting filing notes, you must submit an application for that purpose to the judge.

As soon as the notes have been filed, the attorneys must comply with sections 11 and 12 of the Rules of Practice of the Québec Superior Court in Penal Matters or section 34 of the Rules of Practice of the Superior Court of the Province of Québec. The appellant must, within thirty days, file a written submission setting out the arguments on which the appellant’s case will rely, together with any supporting case law or jurisprudence. The respondent party then has thirty days to do the same.

Once the time limits have expired, the case is placed on the roll for a hearing.

Extraordinary remedy, review of an order and application for extradition

Motions must be filed at the clerk’s office of the Superior Court, and a copy must be forwarded to the office of the coordinating judge so that a date can be fixed for a hearing.

For writs of certiorari, mandamus, prohibition and quo warranto, the applicant must take the necessary steps to have a transcript made of the evidence supporting the recourse sought.

For a writ of habeas corpus, the motion must be filed in the clerk’s office, and the coordinating judge must be informed of the proceeding. In all cases, a hearing date will be fixed without delay to hear the first stage.

Applications for the review, by a judge of the Superior Court, of an order of detention, order of release or application for release (s. 522 C.C.) must be submitted at the clerk’s office of the Superior Court, and must comply with the provisions of the rules of practice of the Court (ss. 20 and 21 ).

When an application for extradition is contested, the coordinating judge must be informed and the parties must indicate the estimated duration of the proceedings so that a date can be set for the hearing.

For more information on criminal and penal matters, please refer to the Criminal Division page. 

(French only)

1) During Court Office Hours

A judge acting in chambers is available every business day in courtroom 2.13.

To be heard in that courtroom, you must first pay the court fees (judicial stamp) and have a file opened at the clerk's office, and then contact the clerk in the room at 514 393-2535, extension 57202.

2) Outside Court Office Hours

In an emergency, a duty judge is available at all time outside normal court business hours.

The duty judge can be reached by contacting the courthouse security service 514-393-2819 which will, in turn, contact the duty judge who will then communicate directly with the person making the request.

1) Hearing by preference 

Toute demande pour audition par préférence d'un dossier est présentable devant la juge en chef ou un juge que cette dernière désigne. Pour ce faire, on doit communiquer avec le maître des rôles, qui indique les dates disponibles pour présenter une telle demande. L'original et la copie de la Cour de cette demande doivent, par la suite, être produits au greffe de la Cour en indiquant, comme date de présentation, une des dates mentionnées par le maître des rôles.

2) Transfer of case (Art. 48 C.C.P.) 

La demande doit être notifiée à la partie adverse avec un avis de présentation qui mentionne « Ã  une date qu’il plaira à la juge en chef de fixer Â». La demande et la preuve de signification doivent être déposées au dossier de la Cour et une copie doit être transmise par courriel à l’adresse jugeenchef-cs@judex.qc.ca ou par télécopieur au 514 873-5959. Le bureau de la juge en chef vous indiquera de quelle façon votre demande sera entendue.

3) Vexatious or quarrelsome litigant

Lorsqu'un jugement rendu par un juge de la Cour supérieure déclare une personne « plaideur vexatoire ou quérulent Â», il est nécessaire d’obtenir l’autorisation de la juge en chef ou d’un juge qu’elle désigne avant de déposer une procédure.

Voici la marche à suivre :

1. Préparer une demande d’autorisation de déposer une procédure soutenue par une déclaration sous serment;
2. Cette demande d’autorisation doit être accompagnée d’une copie de la procédure pour laquelle l’autorisation est demandée ainsi que, le cas échéant, les pièces à son soutien;
3. Le tout doit être acheminé au bureau de la juge en chef par courrier Ã  l’adresse suivante : Juge en chef de la Cour supérieure, Palais de Justice, 1, rue Notre-Dame Est, Montréal (Québec) H2Y 1B6.

Il est suggéré de joindre la copie du jugement déclarant la personne « plaideur vexatoire ou quérulent Â».

Si l’autorisation est accordée, l’original de l’autorisation sera transmis par lettre puisque cette autorisation devra être jointe à la procédure autorisée. Il est donc important d’indiquer une adresse postale.

Motions requiring a hearing of two hours or more are referred by the special clerk to the master of the rolls to allow a date to be set.

If all parties consent, Motions requiring a hearing of less than two hours may be referred by the special clerk to the master of the rolls to allow a date to be set.

If consent cannot be obtained from the parties, the Motions are referred to courtroom 2.08 to be heard if progress of the roll so allows or postponed to a later date.

* Always check the Superior Court roll to validate the date of a hearing.

Motions requiring a hearing of two hours or more are referred by the special clerk to the master of the rolls to allow a date to be set.

If all parties consent, Motions requiring a hearing of less than two hours may be referred by the special clerk to the master of the rolls to allow a date to be set.

If consent cannot be obtained from the parties, the Motions are referred to courtroom 2.01 to be heard if progress of the roll so allows or postponed to a later date.

* Always check the Superior Court roll to validate the date of a hearing.

1) Calling of the General Provisional Roll (Courtroom 15.07)

Following the issue of an Attestation that a File is Complete, cases in which the Joint Declaration that a File is Complete provides for a hearing of less than ten days are scheduled for a calling of the general provisional roll presided by the special clerk.

2) Calling of the Special Provisional Roll

Following the issue of an Attestation that a File is Complete, cases in which the Joint Declaration that a File is Complete provides for a hearing of ten days or more are scheduled for a calling of the special provisional roll presided by the chief justice or the assistant chief justice or by a judge designated by any of them.

1) Application for postponement on the day of the hearing

Every application made on the day of the hearing for the postponement of a case, whether a practice case or a case proceeding on its merits, has to be formulated orally to the judge designated to hear the case.

2) Application for postponement contested prior to the day of the hearing

Every application for postponement contested prior to the day of the hearing must be presented in writing in courtroom 2.16 in civil matters or in courtroom 2.17 in family matters.

3) Application for postponement not contested prior to the day of the hearing

Every application for postponement that is not contested prior to the day of the hearing must be presented in writing to the judge responsible for the roll on which the case is placed.

An application for a pre-trial conference in a case ready to be heard may only be made after the case has been placed on a provisional role and when ordered by the special clerk, ex officio or at the request of the parties.

The use of technological assistance in the Montréal courthouse is possible in the following situations:

Telephone conference call

For the presentation of an uncontested Motion to Extend a Time Limit of 180 days, a Case Management Notice, a Motion to Examine a Third Party by Consent or a Motion for a Ruling on Foreseeable Objections, a telephone conference call is accepted on the following conditions:

• The parties must file the motion and amended time limit at least two (2) clear days before the date of the hearing;
• The attorney who presents the motion must call 514-393-2322 to obtain a date and time for the hearing and a conference identification number;
• The service is available once per week, in the afternoon, by appointment only;
• The detailed procedure is set out in the Directives du district de Montréal en vigueur à compter du 1er janvier 2023 (French only).

Videolink

To hear witnesses during an examination on the merits, a videoconference may be used based on the following procedure:

• The parties must have obtained prior authorization from the coordinating judge or the judge designated to hear the case (if known);
• At least 5 days before the date of the hearing, the parties or their attorneys must contact the audiovisual and electronic services division (Service des ressources audiovisuelles et électroniques or SRAVE) at 514-864-7283 to make the necessary technical arrangements.

Please note that unless a videoconference is specifically required, the technology cannot be used if a telephone conference call would otherwise meet all the requirements of the hearing (for example: to hear a witness at a hearing presided at by a judge).