The attached Notice is being issued at the request of The Honourable Raymond P. Whalen, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The major points to note in this amended document include:

1. The General Division in St. John’s will begin hearing short-cause civil applications (longer than 5 minutes), short-cause criminal applications, long-cause civil applications, and long-cause criminal applications in person at the Duckworth Street Courthouse. Short-cause civil applications that are expected to be less than 5 minutes will be heard by teleconference using CourtCall. Further details about this change may be found at part 6.1 of the guidelines.
2. The guidelines now provide information for litigants, counsel, and witnesses about what to do if you have an upcoming court matter but you have a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, you have come into close contact with someone that has a confirmed case of COVID-19, or you are required to self-isolate for travel or other reasons. It also provides guidance on what to do if you begin to experience symptoms while at the court house. The document contains similar guidance for members of the public and the media who wish to attend the courthouse to observe proceedings. Further details about these changes may be found at part 11 of the guidelines.

Inquiries can be sent to inquiries@supreme.court.nl.ca

Supreme Court of NL Guidelines to Re-opening (Updated) – October 30, 2020