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O. Reg. 649/20: FAMILY LAW RULES

filed November 18, 2020 under Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43

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ontario regulation 649/20

made under the

Courts of Justice Act

Made: October 9, 2020
Approved: November 10, 2020
Filed: November 18, 2020
Published on e-Laws: November 18, 2020
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: December 5, 2020

Amending O. Reg. 114/99

(FAMILY LAW RULES)

1. Rule 1.1 of Ontario Regulation 114/99 is revoked and the following substituted:

Rule 1.1: Electronic Filing and Issuance of Documents

Electronic Filing

1.1 (1) Except as otherwise provided by this rule, any document that may or must be filed under these rules may be filed electronically in accordance with this rule by use of the software authorized by the Ministry of the Attorney General for the purpose and available on the Internet through Justice Services Online, if the software provides for the electronic filing of the document.

Requirement to Agree to Terms of Use

(2) Subrule (1) does not apply unless the party filing the document agrees to the terms of use of the authorized software and provides an email address at which the party agrees to accept documents from the court electronically.

ELECTRONIC ISSUANCE

(3) Except as otherwise provided by this rule, any document that may or must be issued under these rules may be issued electronically by use of the software authorized by the Ministry of the Attorney General for the purpose, if the software provides for the electronic issuance of the document.

FILING OR ISSUANCE Subject to CONFIRMATION

(4) Despite subrules (1) and (3), a document submitted to the authorized software for electronic filing or issuance is not filed or issued for the purposes of these rules unless the filing or issuance of the document is confirmed in writing by the authorized software or by the clerk, and is considered to have been filed or issued on the date indicated for the document in the confirmation.

Confirmation by Authorized Software Subject to Clerk Refusal

(5) Despite subrule (4), the clerk may subsequently reject the filing of an application that was confirmed by the authorized software if the clerk determines that the requirements of subrule 5 (3) have not been met, in which case,

(a)  the clerk shall give notice of the rejection to the applicant; and

(b)  the application is deemed not to have been filed.

Issuance by Court

(6) A document issued electronically under this rule is deemed to have been issued by the court.

Signatures

(7) A document that is filed or issued electronically under this rule may be signed with an electronic signature, as defined in the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000.

INCONSISTENCIES when Filing

(8) In the event of an inconsistency between information in a document submitted to the authorized software for filing and related information submitted to the authorized software that is not in the document,

(a)  the information in the document prevails, subject to clause (b);

(b)  in the case of information respecting the municipality specified by a person for the purposes of rule 5, the information that is not in the document prevails.

Request for Clarification

(9) A clerk may request from a party written clarification with respect to a document that is submitted to the authorized software for filing or issuance, and the party shall provide the clarification in the manner specified by the clerk.

REQUIREMENT TO KEEP ORIGINAL

(10) A person who electronically files a document that was originally signed, certified or commissioned in paper format shall,

(a)  retain the original document until the day on which the case is finally disposed of or, if no notice of appeal is served in the case, the time for serving the notice has expired, subject to any requirement in these rules to give the document to the clerk before that day; and

(b)  promptly make the original document available for inspection and copying on the request of the court or of any party to the case.

Court Record

(11) If any document in a case is filed or issued electronically, the court may permit the creation and maintenance of an electronic court record of the documents filed in the case as an alternative to the application of rule 9 (continuing record), in which case,

(a)  the electronic court record shall be created and maintained in accordance with the directions of the clerk or a judge of the court; and

(b)  a reference in these rules to the continuing record, other than in rule 9, shall be read as a reference to the electronic court record, subject to the directions of the clerk or a judge of the court.

Application of Rules requiring Filing of multiple copies

(12) A requirement in these rules that multiple copies of a document be filed does not apply if the document is filed electronically in accordance with this rule.

Application of rules Requiring Filing of Stamped Envelope

(13) A requirement in these rules to file a stamped envelope together with a document does not apply if the document is filed electronically in accordance with this rule.

Non-Application to Rule 28

(14) This rule does not apply with respect to the electronic filing or issuance of documents under rule 28, except as provided for in that rule.

2. (1) The definition of “authorized software” in subrule 2 (1) of the Regulation is revoked.

(2) The definition of “file” in subrule 2 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

“file” means to file, with proof of service where service is required,

3. Subrule 17 (16) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “With permission obtained in advance from the judge who is to conduct a conference” at the beginning and substituting “With permission obtained in advance from the judge who is to conduct a conference or if otherwise permitted by the court”.

4. (1) Rule 28 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subrules:

Interpretation, electronic filing and issuance

(0.1) A reference in this rule to the electronic filing or issuance of a document is a reference to the filing or issuance of the document by use of the software authorized by the Ministry of the Attorney General for the purposes of this rule.

. . . .  .

Application of rule 1.1

(12) Subrules 1.1 (5) and (6) apply, with necessary changes, to the electronic filing or issuance of a document under this rule.

(2) Subrule 28 (14) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “is filed or issued under this rule electronically using the authorized software” in the portion before paragraph 1 and substituting “is filed or issued electronically under this rule”.

5. (1) Subrules 36 (6.0.1), (6.1), (6.2), (6.2.1), (6.3) (6.4), (6.5) and (6.6) of the Regulation are revoked.

(2) Clause 36 (8) (b) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(b)  if satisfied of those matters, issue a divorce certificate (Form 36B) and, unless the court orders otherwise,

(i)  mail it to the parties if stamped envelopes have been filed, or

(ii)  email it to the parties.

6. Paragraph 3 of subrule 38 (17) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “printed” and substituting “typed”.

Commencement

7. This Regulation comes into force on the day it is filed.

Made by:
Pris par :

Family Rules Committee:
le Comité des règles en matière de droit de la famille :

Helena Likwornik

Secretary, Family Rules Committee

 

Date made: October 9, 2020
Pris le : 9 octobre 2020

I approve this Regulation.
J’approuve le présent règlement.

Le procureur général,

Doug Downey

Attorney General

Date approved: November 10, 2020
Approuvé le : 10 novembre 2020

 

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