Civil Justice Project: the use of time limits and formal notification in civil case management

Abstract

This document is an examination of the present use of two case management tools in the Canadian civil courts: time limits and formal notification requirements. Time limits refer to the established time periods outlined for the conclusion of critical steps in the litigation process. These address individual case movement in the court system. Formal notification requirements relate to an obligation by the parties to notify the court when an action has terminated. These requirements serve to inform overall case disposition irrespective of any target disposition dates that may be in effect.

The current study examines the situation in Canadian provinces and territories with respect to the existence and observance of time limits and formal notification requirements. This examination is timely because a number of jurisdictions are presently engaged in building or modifying automated case management systems. As well, many jurisdictions are re-examining case management in an attempt to increase the speed of case processing and lessen backlog in the courts.

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1998	(PDF - 93K)