Cases

Access to Court Records

Press Release - February 2009

The Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada has announced in a Notice to the Profession that its Policy for Access to Supreme Court of Canada Court Records takes effect on February 9, 2009.

With the introduction of this policy, the Court will provide more case information on its web site. In addition to the schedules, docket information, party information and case summaries currently available, the Court will provide webcasts of appeal hearings and will post appeal factums filed on or after February 9, 2009.

Webcasts

Courtroom proceedings will be webcast live unless a case may not be suitable for webcasting due to a publication ban or privacy concerns. An archive of webcasts will be maintained on the website. There are restrictions on the use of webcasts. If you want permission to use a webcast, you must submit an on-line Request to Use Supreme Court of Canada Photographs, Videos or Webcasts.

Appeal Factums

These are documents prepared by or on behalf of parties to proceedings and filed with the Court. Factums set out the facts of the case, the legal issues and the legal arguments. If an appeal factum contains personal information that should not be made widely available over the Internet (for example, an individual’s home address, social insurance number or bank account number), the lawyer preparing the factum will be required to provide an electronic version of a factum that omits such information. Similarly, as set out in the Guidelines for Printed and Electronic Versions of Appeal Documents, information that is subject to a publication ban will have to be redacted. The redacted version of the factum will be posted on the website, unless the factum contains sensitive information that may not be suitable for posting.  If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. His or her contact information appears on the first page of each factum. Appeal factums will be available from SCC Case Information.