Judgme​​nt

A judgment is the Court's decision on a notice of motion or about the final result of the case. Judgment may be given immediately at the hearing or it can be given later. This is called "reserving judgment".

If judgment is reserved, you will later be notified of the date, time and place that the judgment will be given.

If you do not appear, a copy of the judgment will be sent to you and it will be published on the Court's website, where it will, in almost all cases, be publicly available.

C​​​​​​​​osts

​Just because you choose not to pay a lawyer to represent you does not mean that you will not incur costs by bringing a matter to Court. This is one reason why, if you can, it is much better to settle a dispute out of Court than to engage in litigation.

Co​​​​urt ​or​​​​d​​​​​ered costs

If you are unsuccessful in your case, the Court may order you to pay the other party's costs. If they are legally represented, it may mean that you have to pay for their solicitors, barristers and Court fees. If you are successful however, you may be awarded costs which may enable you to recover some of the fees that you have paid or owe, for example, your hearing fee, from the other party. Even if you are successful, it is unlikely that you will recover all of your costs involved in bringing the case. Your costs will not include, for example, income you have lost because you have taken time off work to come to Court.

Appeals an​​d reviews

​​If you are dissatisfied with orders made by a Registrar you can ask for a Judge to review those orders by filing a notice of motion. See UCPR Part 49​ for further information about the process for reviewing a Registrar's decision. If you are dissatisfied with the decision of a Judge you may be able to appeal that decision to the Court of Appeal. There is not however an automatic right to appeal every decision a Judge makes. Depending on the type of decision, sometimes you will need the Court of Appeal's permission (or leave) to appeal. For example, if the decision is not a final decision in the case you will normally require leave to appeal. For information about when leave to appeal a decision may be required see the Supreme Court Act Part 7. More information about how to appeal or seek leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal can be found in UCPR Part 51. ​