STANDARDS FOR CASE IDENTIFICATION



Canadian Legal Information Centre

May 1990

Revised : January 2001 (ms)

1.    Basic Concepts 2.    Names 3.    Cross-References 4.    Appeals 5.    Crown 6.    Municipalities and Other Geographical Designations 7.    Company Names 8.    Institutions 9.    Initials Replacing Full Names 10.    Foreign Names 11.    Wills and Estates 12.    Bankruptcy and Receiverships 13.    Names of Ships 14.    Applications 15.    Constitutional References 16.    Consolidated or Multiple Actions 17.    Actions Severed on Appeal

18.    Abbreviations 19.    Union Abbreviations

20.    Meeting of Publishers



Revised May 1990


CLIC STANDARDS FOR CASE IDENTIFICATION


1. Basic Concepts
STANDARD 1

There should be Standards for Case Identification.
STANDARD 2

All legal publishers should conform to the Standards for Case Identification.
STANDARD 3

The main style of cause at the head of a case report should take whatever form the publisher wishes. In this way it may be as formal or abbreviated as the publisher wishes, may include as many parties as the publisher feels desirable, and may conform with any statutory requirements.
STANDARD 4

Where the Standards differ in any way from the style of cause used by the publisher at the head of the case report, underneath the main style of cause at the head of the case should be an entry reading "Indexed as...", giving the exact entry as listed in the case table in the prelims, consolidations and elsewhere. If the "Indexed as..." entry is identical to the main style of cause, it may be omitted. The running head may correspond with this entry if desired, length permitting.
STANDARD 5

All entries in case tables of all kinds, that is in prelims and in consolidations, should be identical.

Incorrect Entries
Where an "Indexed as..." entry is clearly wrong, the correct entry should be used in the future but a cross-reference to the incorrect entry should be used.
STANDARD 6

The "Indexed as..." entry should be used in tables of cases in legal textbooks, monographs and journals, as well as law reports.

2. NAMES
STANDARD 7

The "Indexed as..." entry uses as a basis the name of the first plaintiff and the name of the first defendant, separated by "v".
Preliminary Applications and Similar Matters
For preliminary applications and motions and applications related to, but not necessarily part of, the main proceeding, the "Indexed as..." entry of the main proceeding should be used with a cross-reference. (This includes such things as applications by themedia for access, applications to quash committals and proceedings against judges on preliminary matters.)

Exemple:
R. v. Nixon, not Nixon v. Smith, where there was an application by the accused Nixon to quash a ruling of Judge Smith
In this situation a cross-reference should be used.

Judges' Names
Judges' names should not be used in the "Indexed as..." entry, though they may be used in a cross-reference. The "Indexed as..." entry of the main proceeding should be used.
Persons Unknown
Where the name of a party includes "persons unknown", "Persons Unknown" should be used by itself as the party name.
STANDARD 8

Where the first plaintiff or first defendant is an individual, his or her last name should be used. Where one or both are companies, the company name should be used.

Initials following the surnames of individual plaintiffs and defendants should not be included within the "Indexed as..." entry. They should however be used when the party is a company.
STANDARD 9

Standards 7 and 8 are subject to the following Standards, which may change them in some cases.

3. CROSS REFERENCES
STANDARD 10

Where the "Indexed as..." entry is very different from the main style of cause (as in some appeals), a cross-reference from the main style of cause should be used in case tables.

4. APPEALS
STANDARD 11
Appeal Decisions
The same indexing entry as used in the original proceeding should be retained for appeal decisions. In the proceedings of administrative boards and tribunals, the "Indexed as..." entry should correspond to the lower court decision rather than to the initial board or tribunal decision.
When an incorrect "Indexed as..." entry appears on a decision, it should be corrected on the appeal decision. A cross-reference to the incorrect lower court level "Indexed as..." entry should be given.

When a lower level decision has not been reported and an appeal decision has been rendered, the "Indexed as..." entry should correspond to the lower level and not to the appeal decision.
STANDARD 12
Raw Decisions
Appeal decisions, as distributed in typewritten form from courts to publishers and others, should either:

(a) give the citation of the trial decision on the cover if the case has been reported, or

(b) attach a photocopy of the cover sheet of the raw decision from the trial showing the style of cause.

Appeal decisions distributed electronically by QL Systems at the present time already include an "Indexed as..." entry.
STANDARD 13
Court Abbreviations
The "Indexed as..." entry for appeal decisions should include the abbreviation for the court which decided the appeal, after the names of the parties.
Exception:
Where court abbreviations are incorporated in a case citation or appear in case tables, it is not essential for the court abbreviation to appear immediately after the party names. It must be stressed, however, that the abbreviation for the court deciding the appeal must be placed in a location that is obvious to users.

5. CROWN
STANDARD 14
Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Cases
R. followed by the name of the accused or defendant should be used in all criminal and quasi-criminal cases, regardless of the status of the Crown as prosecutor, appellant or respondent.
Example:
R. v. McDonald
STANDARD 15
Civil Cases Involving the Crown, Crown Corporations, Government Boards, Agencies and Commissions
(a) In proceedings where the Crown in right of Canada or a province is a party, the name of the jurisdiction should be used exclusively.
Examples:
Smith v. Government of Saskatchewan should read: Smith v. Saskatchewan
Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of British Columbia v. Jones should read: British Columbia v.Jones
(b) Where government boards, agencies, commissions, government departments, or their ministers (inlcuding Attorneys-General) are parties, the name of the jurisdiction followed by the name of the board, agency, commission, department or minister should be used. The name of an individual acting in an official capacity should not appear in the "indexed as..." entry.
Where a board, commission or agency appears in the style of cause, the jurisdiction reference should be placed first in the "Indexed as..." entry followed by the full name of the board, commission or agency. If reference to the jurisdiction appears in the name of the board, the jurisidiction should not be repeated.
Examples:
Smith v. Canada (Human Rights Commission)
Jones v. Canada (National Parole Board)
For decisions involving Crown Corporations, use only the proper name of the Coporation. It should not be preceded by a jurisdictional reference.
Example:
Scott v. Saskatchewan Government Insurance Corporation
In cases where the name of an individual, along with an official designation, appears in the style of cause, the "Indexed as..." entry should only include the official designation, preceded by the jurisdiction.
Example:
Knockaert v. Canada (Commissioner of Corrections), and not Knockaert v. Jack Jones, Commissioner of Corrections
It may be necessary to search beyond the cover sheet to find the appropriate jurisdictional reference.

If the style of cause includes an individual's name, an official designation and the name of a government branch, section or division, but not the name of the government department, the "Indexed as..." entry should appear with the official designation preceding the name of the government branch, section or division in brackets. The individual's name should be eliminated.
Example:
Sanders, Director of Operations, Highway Construcion Branch v. Doe should be indexed as: Alberta (Director of Operations Highway Construction Branch) v. Doe
In those instances where the name of the government department is not apparent from the cover sheet of the decision, it is usually unnecessary to search beyond the cover sheet for the name of the department governing the activity of the branch, division or individual.

When the Crown is represented by an agency, board or commission, the "Indexed as..." entry should include a jurisdictional designation followed by the name of the representative body.
Example:
Anderson and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Alberta as represented by the Local Authority Board should be indexed as:Anderson v. Alberta (Local Authority Board)
Municipal Boards and Commissions
For decisions involving municipal boards and commissions, the name of the municipality, folowed by the board name, should appear in the "Indexed as..." entry.
Example:
Jones v. Board of Commissioners of Police of the City of Cornwall should appear as: Jones v. Cornwall (City) Commissioners of Police
School Boards
The "Indexed as..." entry for school boards should include the name of the board preceded by the name of the community.
Example:
St. Walburg Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 25 v. Turtleford, School Division No.65
Children's Aid and Similar Social Assistance Agencies
The styles of cause for children's aid and similar social assistance agencies should appear in the "Indexed as..." entry as they appear on the cover sheet of the decision. A geographical designation should not precede the name of the agency.
Example:
Canning v. Family and Children's Service of Cumberland Country
Extradition Proceedings
In the style of cause for extradition proceedings, use only the commonly used name of the country initiating the proceeding, followed by the correct descriptive designator in brackets.
Example:
Argentina (Republic) v. Mellino
Indian Bands
Where an Indian Band appears in a style of cause, the "Indexed as..." entry should include only the name of the Band. If the names of the Band Chief or others are listed, a cross-reference can be used.
Prison Disciplinary Hearings
The names of the applicant and of the institution only are used.
Example:
Mooring v. Kent Institution
STANDARD 16

Minister of National Revenue
An exception to the above Standard should be made for the Minister of National Revenue, who should appear as M.N.R.
Example:
Smith v. M.N.R.
Deputy Minister of National Revenue
The Deputy Minister of National Revenue should be styled as Deputy M.N.R.
Example:
Jones v. Deputy M.N.R., Customs and Excise
6. MUNICIPALITIES AND OTHER GEOGRAPHICAL DESIGNATIONS
STANDARD 17

The proper names of cities, towns, counties, municipalities and similar entries should be placed first in the party name, followed by a descriptive designation in brackets.

The descriptive designation should be included in the party name, except when it was self-evident from the remainder of the party name.
With the descriptive designation, use City, Town, Municipality, etc. Do not use City of, Town of, Municipality of, etc, in the descriptive designation.
Example:
Toronto (City) v. Smith
Where the correct name of a place includes a descriptive word (Metro Toronto, Greater Winnipeg), the descriptive word should nevertheless be placed after the name in brackets.
Example:
Toronto (Metro) v. Smith
7. COMPANY NAMES
STANDARD 18

Limited or Ltd. should be omitted where it follows Company, Co., Corporation or Corp.

The name of a company should be used without inversion where it includes an individual's name.

Case tables should include a cross-reference by surname.
Example:
Indexed as: T. Eaton Co. v. Smith. Cross-reference in case table: Eaton (T.) Co., see T. Eaton Co.
Partnership names should be treated identically to company names

The words le, la, the, should not be included in company names

When a company name or an individual's name along with a "carrying on business" name appears in the style of cause, use the company name only and drop the "carrying on business" name. The "carrying on business" name can be cross-referenced particularly in cases where this name is more commonly used than the proper company name.

Where the name of a company appears in both French and English on a raw decision, use the name in the language of the report, with a cross-reference to the name in the other language.
For the treatment of foreign company names, see Standard 26.

8. INSTITUTIONS
STANDARD 19

Governors of, Board of Trustees of and similar words should be eliminated from the name of institutions.

9. INITIALS REPLACING FULL NAMES
STANDARD 20

Initials should be used instead of proper names in the following types of cases, whether or not the raw judgment uses initials:

(a)  proceedings involving young offenders;
(b)  child protection proceedings;
(c)  affiliation proceedings;
(d)  adoption proceedings;
(e)  criminal and civil proceedings involving victims of sexual offences:
Use initials for the name of the accused only where the victim can be identified if the full name of the accused appears.

Note that in civil cases concerning sexual assault, initials are not used.
(f)  cases where the use of names for other parties might identify persons in the above categories;
(g)  cases where the raw judgement uses initials, whether or not they are in the classes listed above.

STANDARD 21
Order of Initials
Initials should be inverted for both plaintiff and defendant, so that the final intial appears first.
Example:
C. (A.B.) c. F.(D.E.)
This pratice should be followed, even when cited in the text of the judgment.

STANDARD 22

As many initials as possible should be used.
Example:
C.(A.B.) rather than simply C.
STANDARD 23
Fictitious Names
Artificial initials should not be substituted for actual initials. When fictious names are used, they should be left just as they appear on the cover sheet of the decision, subject to these Standards.

STANDARD 24
Cases Identified by Number
Where the types of cases set out in 20, above, are identified by number rather than initials, the number should be used ad the "Indexed as..." entry, and in case tables.

10. FOREIGN NAMES
STANDARD 25
Names of Foreign Individuals
The final name appearing in the style of cause should be used in the "Indexed as..." entry, regardless of ethnic origin.

Ignore names on raw decisions placed in brackets.

In the case of names beginning with de, Le, van, von, etc., follow the University of Chicago Manual of Style to determine what is the final name.

STANDARD 26
Foreign Company Names
Foreign company names (i.e names in languages other than French and English) should be used exactly as they appear on the raw decision. They should be subject to the same rules as other companies ( see Standard 18).

11. WILLS AND ESTATES
STANDARD 27

The name of the estate, rather than the names of the executors, should be used in wills and estates cases where this is apparent on the cover sheet of the raw decision.
Examples:
Smith Estate v. Johnson rather than Canada Trust Co. v. Johnson
In cases where the raw decision does not include a plaintiff and defendant, the name of the estate followed by (Re) should be adopted
Example:
Jones Estate (Re)
In cases where both the application form and trial form appear, the trial from should be used in the "Indexed as..." entry.

For a person under a disability, use (Guardian) or other appropriate designation after the individual's name.
Example:
Smith (Guardian) c. Johnson
12. BANKRUPTCY AND RECEIVERSHIPS
STANDARD 28

Where trustees in bankruptcy or receivers appear as parties in actions, use instead the name of the bankrupt or company in receivership followed by (Trustee of) or (Receiver of), if this information is apparent on the cover sheet of the raw decision.
Do not use any additional identifying terms such as (Trustee of Receiver of) or (Receiver-Manager and Trustee of) in the application of this Standard.
13. NAMES OF SHIPS
STANDARD 29

The name of a ship should be use followed by (The), regardless of the position of the name in the style of cause. The names of ships need not be placed in quotation marks.

14. APPLICATIONS
STANDARD 30

Where a raw decision has both In the matter of... and the names of the parties as plaintiff and defendant, the latter should be used in the standard adversarial form in the "Indexed as..." entry. (Re) should be omitted.
Example:
Smith v. Jones
Where a raw decision has no plaintiff and defendant in its style of cause, but exclusively uses In the matter of..., (Re) should be used. Where there is such a name of an individual or company, the title of any statute found in the style of cause should not be used.
Example:
Smith (Re)
Exception: See Wills and Estates, Standard 27
Where a statute title is used, it need not be followed by the jurisidiction if the jurisdiction is obvious fom the title of the statute.
Example:
Canadian Labour Code not Canada Labour Code (Canada)
15. CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENCES
STANDARD 31

All entries for constitutional references should begin with the words Reference re: followed by the name of the first statute which forms the subject matter of the reference.
(Note: In many cases, the cover sheet of the raw decision includes the statute under which constitutional references are made to the provincial courts of appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. This statute title should not be incorporated in the "Indexed as..." entry.)
Example:
In the matter of a Reference under Section 27(1) of the Judicature Act, being Chapter J-1 of the Revised Statutes of Alberta, 1980;

And in the matter of the validity of compulsory arbitration provisions found in the Public Service Employee Relations Act, the Labour Relations Act, and the Police Officers Collective Bargaining Act, being Chapters P-33, L-1.1, and P-12.05 of the Revised Statutes of Alberta, 1980 respectively;

And in the matter of the exclusion of certain employees from units for collective bargaining

The "Indexed as..." entry should read: Reference re: Public Service Employees Relations Act (Alta.)
16. CONSOLIDATED OR MULTIPLE ACTIONS
STANDARD 32

Where two individual actions are consolidated, the "Indexed as..." entries from the lower court decisions should both appear under the style of cause for the consolidated action. Individual cross-references for the separate "Indexed as..." entry should appear in case tables.
Previously, this Standard read as follows: Only the first action needs to be indexed. If a publisher wishes to index additional actions, or provide cross-references, this is helpful but optional.
17. ACTIONS SEVERED ON APPEAL
Where joined cases are severed on appeal, and the original "Indexed as..." entry does not reflect the name of the case on appeal, the original "Indexed as..." entry should be retained with cross-reference(s) provided.

18. ABBRÉVIATIONS
STANDARD 33

The following abbreviations should be used in the "Indexed as..." entry:
Association Assn.
Association Assoc.
Compagnie Cie
Company Co.
Corporation Corp.
Incorporated Inc.
Incorporé Inc.
Limited Ltd.
Limitée Ltée.
Regina/Reine/Rex/Roi/King/Queen/Her Majesty The Queen R.

Where "incorporated" or any of its abbreviated forms appears in a party name, it should be deleted when it is included with "company" or its abbreviated forms.

19. UNION ABBREVIATIONS
Since the Labour Canada Directory of Labour Organizations in Canada has been found deficient in the number of unions and the abbreviations it lists, an alternative method of locating abbreviations is required.

Where a local appears in a party name, it should be included in full along with the number of the local.

20. MEETING OF PUBLISHERS
STANDARD 34

A meeting of publishers and representatives will be convened annually to discuss the Standards and to deal with any problems which have arisen concerning this implementation.


Bruno Ménard, June 15 1999