In response to the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador suspended its normal operations on March 18, 2020, permitting only urgent and emergency matters to proceed. Since that time, the Court has been analyzing ways of expanding its services, taking into account the recommendations of public health authorities. Further to this, on April 28, 2020, the Court expanded the types of documents that could be filed, began to deal with non-urgent proceedings that could be dealt with without an appearance, and began to hear specified family matters. The Court again expanded its operations on May 19, 2020, and began hearing a number of additional matters by teleconference and videoconference.

The Court remains committed to ensuring access to justice is maintained by continuing to expand its services in a manner that protects the health and safety of the public, staff members, judges and other stakeholders. To this end, the Court lays out the following plan for re-opening.

Supreme Court of NL Guidelines for Re-opening (Updated)