Self-represented litigants

If you are thinking about bringing an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada or if you have been named as a respondent in an application for leave to appeal, try to get legal advice as a first step. Getting advice will help you understand if your case could be of interest to the Court.

Pro Bono Ontario (PBO) operates a program that provides legal advice to eligible self-represented people who are bringing or responding to an application for leave to appeal. This service is available to residents of every province and territory in Canada. Apply for assistance online on Pro Bono Ontario website or please email supremecourt-coursupreme@probonoontario.org and include a copy of the decision you wish to appeal. It is important to keep in mind that this pro bono service begins with an attempt to find a lawyer to assess the merits of your application for leave to appeal. If a lawyer concludes that your application has a reasonable prospect of success, PBO will then seek to identify a lawyer who can provide you with further assistance.

In cases where leave to appeal is required, the Court can accept or refuse to hear a case. This is called judicial discretion. No one has an automatic right to have a hearing before the Court.

While the Supreme Court of Canada gets many applications for leave to appeal each year, it only grants a hearing of an appeal in about 6% of the applications. The Court will only hear a case if it raises an issue of national or public importance. A case that is of interest only to the immediate parties is not of interest to Canadians generally.