Practice Directions

Practice Directions have been issued by the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal since the adoption of Rules of Court on January 1, 1977. These have been intended to help guide procedure for the Bench and Bar. Revisions of the Practice Directions were first made by Chief Justice Nicholson in 1985, and have been revised by the Chief Justices and updated as needed over the years.

In 2013, Chief Justice Jenkins and the Court of Appeal issued Practice Direction regarding Civil Appeals in the Court of Appeal, which consolidated all directions into a single document, providing guidance and direction for practice and procedure in the Court of Appeal.

In 2025, Chief Justice Clements issued a consolidation of Practice Directions for the Supreme Court, divided into ten parts, by subject matter. The purpose of this revision is to provide comprehensive procedural guidance to lawyers and self-represented parties in an accessible format. All former Practice Notes of the Supreme Court are to be discarded.

Accordingly, each court has Practice Directions to guide their procedure. Further, there are Practice Directions issued jointly by the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, as well as issued jointly with the Provincial Court.

Members of the Bar should review and become familiar with these Practice Directions as it is expected they will be followed in all cases.

Individual Notes

PART I – COURT PROCEDURE AND DECORUM

A. Opening and Closing Hearings

B. Attire and Decorum

C. Documents and Exhibits

D. Resolution of Matters Before a Hearing

E. Request for Emergency Hearing

F. Identification of Pronouns and Titles by Court Participants

G. Oaths and Affirmations

H. Additional Requests Related to a Hearing

J. Court Orders

PART II – ACCESS TO COURT/COURT RECORDS AND USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES

B. Notice to Media Re: Discretionary Publication, Sealing Order, Restricted Access Order, or Confidentiality Order

C. Use of Electronic Devices in Courtrooms

D. Audio Recordings and Transcripts

E. Release of Court Docket and Court Decisions

PART III – FILING OF DOCUMENTS AND AUTHORITIES

A. General Filing Guidance

B. Electronic Filing

C. Calculation of Time

D. Non-Compliance

E. Filing of USBs

F. Large Language Models of Artificial Intelligence

PART IV – CASE MANAGEMENT AND PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCES

A. Case Management

B. Settlement Conferences, Pre-Trial Conferences and Trial Readiness Pre-Trial Conferences

PART V – GENERAL DIRECTIONS: MOTIONS AND APPLICATIONS

PART VI – FAMILY LAW MATTERS AND DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS

A. Pre-Motion Conferences

B. Motions and Applications

C. Child Support

D. Uncontested Divorces

E. Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL)

F. Director of Child Protection

G. Interjurisdictional Support Orders Regime (ISO Regime)

H. Hague Convention

PART VII – ESTATES AND TRUSTS

PART VIII – CRIMINAL

A. General Procedure

B. Arraignments

C. Pre-Trial Conferences and Resolution Conferences

D. Detention Review Hearings (s. 525 of the Criminal Code Of Canada)

E. Introducing Evidence Containing High Potency Narcotics or other Hazardous Substances

PART IX – COSTS

PART X – QUIETING OF TITLES