Amendments to the General Practice Direction Regarding All Proceedings in the Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal for Ontario released amendments to its General Practice Direction Regarding All Proceedings in the Court of Appeal. The amendments:

• Provide further direction about page numbering materials (para. 8), electronic signatures (para. 11) and Oral Hearing Compendiums (para. 33)
• Introduce a pilot project regarding factum length for criminal appeals (paras. 20-24)
• Provide for an alternative way to file a notice of appeal or notice of abandonment in an inmate appeal where the appellant experiences difficulty signing or submitting the notice (paras. 41 and 48)
• Describe a change to the court’s filing stamp and treatment of filing timelines (paras. 75-78)
• Encourage parties to attend appeal hearings in person (para. 90)
• Update the manner of hearing for single judge motions in light of the availability of pro bono (free) duty counsel for motions on Wednesdays (paras. 94-96)
• Change the email address for in-custody, represented appellants to request access to observe their appeal hearing by video conference (para. 106)
• Change the email address for media to request remote access to a hearing (para. 132)
• Provide directions regarding applications for a direction from the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal or Acting Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal for a review pursuant to s. 680 of the Criminal Code (paras. 147-151)

For a full list of all amendments, please see “Amendments of May 1, 2025” in Appendix A.