Quebec Courts and Jurisdiction

Introduction

Issues Specific to Non-Canadian Parties

Litigating in Court

Regulatory Agencies and Tribunals

Mediation

Domestic Arbitration

Typical Civil Claims

Québec Law And Procedure

About Blakes

PDF Documents

Doing Business in Canada

2. Quebec Courts and Jurisdiction

Quebec has two main levels of courts: (i) a superior court, designated as the Superior Court of Quebec, that has primary, inherent jurisdiction over most civil claims; and (ii) a lower provincial court, designated as the Court of Quebec, that has a limited jurisdiction determined by statute. The Superior Court of Quebec is the court of original general jurisdiction and hears in first instance every action not assigned exclusively to another court by a specific provision of law. As such, the Superior Court of Quebec exercises an inherent competence which is akin to the jurisdiction of the superior courts in the other provinces within the Canadian federal system.

Jurisdiction in bankruptcy, as in the other provinces, is specifically assigned to the Superior Court of Quebec under and by virtue of Section 183(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

The Court of Quebec has jurisdiction to the exclusion of the Superior Court in any action where: (1) the sum claimed or the value of the thing demanded is less than C$70,000, except in actions for alimony pension and those reserved for the Federal Court of Canada; (2) for specific performance, annulment, dissolution or rescission of a contract or for reduction of the obligations resulting from a contract, when the value of the plaintiff’s interest and the object of the dispute is less than C$70,000; and (3) to annul a lease when the amount claimed for rent and damages is less than C$70,000.

Quebec also has a “Small Claims Court” with its own special procedure for monetary claims of C$7,000 or less. Quebec also has municipal courts where jurisdiction and the powers of the justices of the peace are set out in special laws.

The Court of Appeal of Quebec is the general appeal tribunal for Quebec and hears appeals from any judgment from which an appeal lies, failing an express provision to the contrary in the CCP. More specifically, an appeal lies from any final judgment of the Superior Court of the Court of Quebec, except in a case where the value of the object of the dispute in appeal is less than C$50,000, and from any final judgment of the Court of Quebec in a case where such court has exclusive jurisdiction under any Act other than in the CCP.

An appeal also lies from an interlocutory judgment of the Superior Court or the Court of Quebec with leave from the Court of Appeal when the interlocutory judgment in part decides the issues, when the interlocutory judgment orders the doing of anything which cannot be remedied by final judgment or when it unnecessarily delays the trial or the action.

Decisions rendered by the Court of Appeal are generally rendered by panels of three or five judges. The final arbitrator of disputes for Quebec is the Supreme Court of Canada as in the common law provinces.