The Judicial Issues Conference, or “JIC”, is an important event in a general proceeding. It will usually be held in person, and will take about half a day. See High Court Rules 7.5, 7.5A, and 7.5B(external link) for further details on JICs.
The JIC is where the parties, their lawyers and a judge meet to:
The JIC is held after all the factual evidence has been served between parties. It is designed to narrow and clarify issues, explore settlement options, and plan trial logistics.
The JIC will be required unless a judge decides otherwise.
Before a JIC is scheduled, most proceedings will involve a JIC Ready Listing call – this is a short appearance in court before an associate judge. The purpose of the appearance is for parties to talk to a judge to confirm all factual evidence and draft chronologies have been served, and that the parties are ready for a JIC date to be scheduled. Even if the factual evidence and draft chronologies have not been filed in accordance with the timetable, the JIC Ready Listing will go ahead, and parties will need to explain to the judge why filing has not been done on time, and what is required to get the proceeding back on track.
It is the plaintiff’s responsibility to:
The parties will be required to file a separate or joint memo with the court no less than three days before the JIC Ready Listing call date addressing counsel and party availability for the JIC, and addressing matters in High Court Rule 7.4(11). (external link)The parties and their lawyers are expected to attend the JIC in person and you should take this into account when providing information on your availability for the JIC.
Under High Court Rule 7.5B(external link), no later than 10 working days before the JIC, the plaintiff must file:
The defendant and other parties must file their position paper (10 pages maximum) and important documents that they are relying on to make their case at least five working days before the JIC. If the defendant disagrees with the plaintiff’s trial timeline (for example, they think the trial length should be shorter or longer), they need to file a memorandum with the court explaining why.
High Court Rule 7.5B(external link)
Position papers
Position papers are intended to provide a short and clear explanation to the judge of your case and the key issues needing determination, what is required to fairly address the case, and the procedural directions you seek at the JIC.
Trial timeline
A trial timeline is your estimate of how long the trial will take, based on the time it will take for matters like opening submissions, cross-examination, submissions, and judicial reading time for witness statements. You can get a template for the trial timeline from the Registry. The plaintiff must work with the defendant when preparing the draft so that, if a trial date is set at the JIC, enough time for the trial is allowed.
Attendance at the JIC
Lawyers and key representatives of the parties are expected to attend the JIC. They must notify the Registrar of the number of attendees at least five working days before the JIC is held.
The parties and their lawyers are expected to attend in person, unless there is a special reason why someone might need to appear remotely. If you need to appear remotely, make sure you make a request with the Registry well before the date of the JIC. This will provide time to make suitable technical arrangements, if a judge permits you to attend remotely.
The JIC will usually be scheduled for half a day. JICs may be held in a courtroom, or in a meeting room at the courthouse.
It is important to understand that the JIC is not the actual trial or hearing of the case. The judge presiding at the JIC will not be making formal decisions on the substance of the case at the JIC. That comes later, at the trial (see Preparing for trial General Proceedings).
At the JIC you should expect to:
In accordance with High Court Rule 7.5A(external link) you should be ready to discuss all of the following:
High Court Rule 7.5A(external link)
See glossary for more information.