Inventory of Reforms
Québec Civil Procedure Review
Year:
1998
Description:
Overview of the review of Quebec’s Code of Civil Procedure recommended comprehensive reforms.
Status:
Permanent implementation
Jurisdiction:
Quebec
Court:
All Quebec Courts
Body Responsible:
Quebec Minister of Justice
Timeline:
June 1998: Comité de révision de la procédure civile established with a mandate to reform civil procedure.
July 2001: Committee’s Report released.
June 2002: Minister of Justice introduced bill to reform Quebec’s Code of Civil Procedure
1 January 2003: New Code came into force
2006: Evaluation Report released.
Publications:
Comité de révision de la procédure civile, La révision de la procédure civile – Une nouvelle culture judiciaire (Gouvernement du Québec, 2001). [Report]
Report of the Civil Procedure Review Committee : a new judicial culture : summary (Sainte-Foy, Québec: Québec. Ministere de la Justice, 2001).
Mesure visant à instituer un nouveau Code de procédure civile et comportant une proposition quant aux deux premiers livres de ce code – Document de consultation sur le projet de nouveau Code de procédure civile présenté
Rapport d’évaluation de la Loi portant réforme du Code de procedure civile (Justice Québec, 2006). [Evaluation Report]
longtin-en.pdf
Development:
The Quebec Code of Civil Procedure was not revised since 1965. As a result, the Minister of Justice in June 1998 created a committee to assess civil procedure reforms.
The numerous procedural innovations that have been integrated into the Code over the years seem to have been deposited like layers of sediment, making civil procedure more complex and defeating the ultimate goal of simplifying it. In 1998, the Minister of Justice established a committee to review the Code with a mandate to propose new procedure to make civil justice speedier, more efficient, less adversarial, and less expensive in time, energy and cost for both litigants and the justice system itself.
Longtin at 2.
Description of Reforms:
In July 2001, the Comité de révision de la procédure civile released a report entitled La révision de la procédure civile : Une nouvelle culture judiciaire. The report proposed a comprehensive reform of Quebec’s Code of Civil Procedure aimed at meeting the following objectives:
- respect of human rights,
- empowerment of parties,
- increased intervention of judges,
- proportionality of proceedings, and
- openness to information technologies.
A year after the report, the Minister of Justice tabled a bill to reform the Code of Civil Procedure and implement its recommendations. The National Assembly passed the Bill into law in June 2002. The changes introduced by the bill targeted areas such as the institution of proceedings, proceedings in appeal, recovery of small claims, and class action suits.
Specific recommendations and reforms made as part of this process are listed below, under Related Reforms.
Criteria and Methods of Evaluation:
The process of reforming the civil procedure continued after the above mentioned changes. In August 2002, public hearings were held on the departmental proposals contained in the report entitled Mesures visant à instituer un nouveau Code de procédure civile et comportant une proposition quant aux deux premiers livres de ce code.
The legislation implementing the 2003 amendments included the requirement for an assessment of the effects of the reform three years after its coming into force. Justice Department officials met with the Chief Justices, senior regional judges, and representatives of the Bar. A report titled Rapport d’évaluation de la Loi portant réforme du Code de procedure civile was released in April 2006.
Revision History:
This summary was last reviewed in Aug 09, 2012