Resources for Self-Represented Litigants

Preparing the Original Printed Version

1) Printing Requirements*

For all documents:

• Page size:  21.5 cm by 28 cm (letter size)
• Paper type:  Good-quality white paper
• Printed on one side only and, in the case of a bound document, with the printed pages facing up on the left. 

For documents created using word processing software:

• Font:  Times New Roman or a comparable font
• Font style:  Regular
• Font size:  12-point size is recommended
• Number of words per page:  Not more than 500
• Line spacing:  At least one and one half lines apart, except for quotations from authorities, which must be indented and single-spaced
• Margins:  Not less than 2.5 cm

*Handwritten documents may be accepted if they are clear and legible.

2) Covers, Headings and Contact Information

• Covers are required for all documents.  Good-quality white paper must be used for the covers of documents which are not required to be bound; however, good-quality cover stock, in the colour specified in the extracts from the Specific Requirements for Documents table is required for all bound documents.

• The heading on every cover (see Form 1 (Cover) ) must include the following:
  1. the title “In the Supreme Court of Canada”, in upper-case letters;
  2. the name of the court being appealed from, printed in upper-case letters and in parentheses;
  3. the Supreme Court of Canada’s file number, if one has already been assigned;
  4. the style of cause as set out in subrule 22(2) or (3) of the Rules;
  5. the title of the document and the name and title of the party filing it, printed in upper-case letters between horizontal lines; and
  6. the sections of the Supreme Court Act, of the Rules, or of any other legislation on which the document is based, printed in lower-case letters between the horizontal lines.
• On every cover, the following must appear below the heading: on the left, the names, addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of counsel for the parties or — in the case of parties who are not represented by counsel — of the parties themselves; and on the right, the same contact information for the parties’ Ottawa agents, if any (see Form 1).

• If there is insufficient space on the cover for all the required information, it must be continued on subsequent pages — which should not be numbered — inside the document (inside cover pages).

3) Table of Contents

• Each document that must be bound, and each volume of each such document, must have a table of contents.  The table of contents must appear at the beginning of the document or volume and must include the following:
  1. a detailed list, in the order in which they appear, of the contents of each section of the document and of every volume of the document, including appendices, and in a separate column, the page numbers at which they commence.
  2. in the case of a judgment given without recorded reasons, the phrase "no recorded reasons" in the column for page numbers; and
  3. in the case of a book of authorities, the tabs and references for each authority.
• Lower-case Roman numerals should be used in numbering the pages of a table of contents in accordance with the Guide for Numbering Pages.

4) Page Numbers and Volumes

• In every document, except for books of authority, the pages must be numbered consecutively, and page numbers — in Arabic numerals — must appear at the top centre of each page, including any blank pages, with the exception of
  1. the cover and any inside cover pages; and
  2. the table of contents (which must be numbered independently using lower-case Roman numerals).

See the Guide for Numbering Pages.

• If a printed document contains tabs or dividers, the numbering must remain consecutive, irrespective of the tabs or dividers.  Do not include page numbers on the tab or divider pages.

• If a document exceeds 300 pages (or 600 pages if printed on both sides), it must be bound in volumes of not more than 200 pages (or 400 pages if printed on both sides).

• Each volume must be numbered in upper-case Roman numerals.  The volume number should be placed within the horizontal lines, below the title of the document and the other information required to be included there.  The volume number in Roman numerals must also appear on the bottom cutting edge of each volume.

• Each volume of a document must include a cover (see Form 1), which must be immediately followed by a table of contents.

• Page numbering must be started over again in each additional volume of a document.

5) Tabs

• Parties are strongly encouraged to use tabs and dividers in lengthy documents to make it easier for readers to find information.

6) Signatures

• Handwritten signatures are required only
  1. on the original printed versions of forms required by the Rules; and
  2. at the end of Part V of a memorandum of argument on an application for leave to appeal or on a motion.
• These documents must be signed by counsel who prepared them or — in the case of parties who are not represented by counsel — by the parties themselves.  Each signature should appear immediately above the printed name of counsel or the party, as the case may be.