Canada’s Federal Court has amended its general practice guidelines to require pronouns and name pronunciation to be provided by those dealing with the court.“Amendments to note in the latest consolidated general practice guidelines for people dealing with the Court: Provide pronouns and pronunciation of names,” the court said in a social media post on Twitter ("X").The court explained in a subsequent post that people must use “gender neutrality in addressing a Member of the Court.”The 26 pages of amendments published December 20 2023, includes the following on page 3: “The Court invites counsel, parties and witnesses to provide information about the correct pronunciation of their names (phonetic or syllabic spelling), titles (Dr., Mrs., Mr., Ms., Miss, Mx., etc.), and pronouns (she, he, they, etc.) prior to and at the outset of proceedings.”The document says indigenous land acknowledgements can be made, but in the next breath insists such acknowledgements should not sway judges.“Prior to the commencement of any matter in Court, parties, counsel and witnesses may honour the lands (and peoples) upon which the legal proceeding is taking place by way of a land acknowledgment," the document explains.“While the Court respects the practice of parties, counsel and witnesses expressing a land acknowledgment, the Court must remain neutral, as it is often required to determine the substantive or legal rights of parties involved in litigation surrounding lands and/or rights associated with lands.”The document said increasing numbers of cases in certain areas have left aboriginal cases assigned to a few judges with expertise in the area. However, the court says other specialized legal areas are also emerging and prompted the court to respond."To increase transparency and provide greater certainty regarding the manner in which matters in these areas are ordinarily assigned, the Court has launched a pilot project to establish Chambers in the following four practice groups: a) Intellectual Property and Competition Chambers; b) Maritime and Admiralty Chambers; c) Class Actions Chambers; and d) Aboriginal Law Chamber," the document explained."The Chambers will be used for assignment of judges to: a) Motions to be heard on a special sitting; b) Case management; and c) Hearings on the merits."
Canada’s Federal Court has amended its general practice guidelines to require pronouns and name pronunciation to be provided by those dealing with the court.“Amendments to note in the latest consolidated general practice guidelines for people dealing with the Court: Provide pronouns and pronunciation of names,” the court said in a social media post on Twitter ("X").The court explained in a subsequent post that people must use “gender neutrality in addressing a Member of the Court.”The 26 pages of amendments published December 20 2023, includes the following on page 3: “The Court invites counsel, parties and witnesses to provide information about the correct pronunciation of their names (phonetic or syllabic spelling), titles (Dr., Mrs., Mr., Ms., Miss, Mx., etc.), and pronouns (she, he, they, etc.) prior to and at the outset of proceedings.”The document says indigenous land acknowledgements can be made, but in the next breath insists such acknowledgements should not sway judges.“Prior to the commencement of any matter in Court, parties, counsel and witnesses may honour the lands (and peoples) upon which the legal proceeding is taking place by way of a land acknowledgment," the document explains.“While the Court respects the practice of parties, counsel and witnesses expressing a land acknowledgment, the Court must remain neutral, as it is often required to determine the substantive or legal rights of parties involved in litigation surrounding lands and/or rights associated with lands.”The document said increasing numbers of cases in certain areas have left aboriginal cases assigned to a few judges with expertise in the area. However, the court says other specialized legal areas are also emerging and prompted the court to respond."To increase transparency and provide greater certainty regarding the manner in which matters in these areas are ordinarily assigned, the Court has launched a pilot project to establish Chambers in the following four practice groups: a) Intellectual Property and Competition Chambers; b) Maritime and Admiralty Chambers; c) Class Actions Chambers; and d) Aboriginal Law Chamber," the document explained."The Chambers will be used for assignment of judges to: a) Motions to be heard on a special sitting; b) Case management; and c) Hearings on the merits."
