Federal Courts: Costs and Registry Fees

Summary#

This notice proposes changes called the Rules Amending the Federal Courts Rules and the Federal Courts Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection Rules, published on February 11, 2023. The main practical effects are a simpler, higher costs tariff for Federal Court cases (about 25% higher in many situations) and a new $15 fee for asking the court registry to save documents or digital recordings onto a portable storage device.

What it does#

• Changes to Tariff B (how the court calculates “party-and-party” costs):

  • Splits the single tariff table into four separate tables for actions, applications, appeals, and motions.
  • Reduces the number of recovery levels from 5 columns to 3 columns.
  • Increases many of the unit amounts so assessed tariff awards are about 25% higher overall in comparable cases.
  • Adds new line items for common litigation steps that were previously missing.
  • Allows fractional units and changes rounding so totals are rounded up to the next multiple of 10.
  • Leaves to the judge the choice of whether to use the tariff or continue to make a lump-sum award.

• Changes to Tariff A (registry fees):

  • Adds a $15 fee when the Registry is asked to save a digital recording or a court document onto a portable electronic storage device (for example, a USB key).
  • Keeps digital copies shared by email or the Cloud free. Print copies remain $0.40 per page.

• Terminology update:

  • Replaces the title “prothonotary” with associate judge throughout the Rules and the Immigration Rules to match the change made by Bill C‑19 (in force September 23, 2022).

• Process detail:

  • This is a proposal (publication invites comments for 60 days). The rules would come into force one month after they are registered (specific effective date depends on registration).

Who's affected#

• People and organizations bringing or defending cases in the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, including:

  • Litigants in commercial areas where costs have been a problem, especially intellectual property and maritime cases.
  • Lawyers and law firms who bill time and prepare bills of costs.
  • Court registry staff who prepare electronic copies and recordings.
  • Court taxation officers who assess bills of costs.
  • Small businesses that might be ordered to pay, or receive, party-and-party costs in federal litigation.

• Unclear or variable effects:

  • The rules do not say how many cases will switch from lump-sum awards to tariff-based awards. The number of cases that will see higher or lower total awards is therefore uncertain.

Why it matters#

• Predictability: The changes aim to make tariff awards closer to what courts currently give as lump sums. That should make outcomes more predictable for parties and lawyers when costs are awarded.
• Money: Tariff-based awards could be roughly 25% larger in many cases, meaning winners could recover more of their legal bills and losers could face higher costs than under the old tariff.
• Behavioural nudge: Charging $15 for copies on portable devices but not for email/Cloud copies encourages users to choose no-cost electronic sharing, which reduces registry work.
• Administrative cleanup: Changing “prothonotary” to associate judge is a terminology update to match federal law; it does not change judicial duties.