Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Marginal note:Time within which information to be laid in certain cases

505 If an appearance notice has been issued to an accused under section 497, or if an accused has been released from custody under section 498 or 503, an information relating to the offence alleged to have been committed by the accused or relating to an included or other offence alleged to have been committed by them shall be laid before a justice as soon as practicable after the issuance or release, and in any event before the time stated in the appearance notice or undertaking for their attendance in court.

Marginal note:Form

506 An information laid under section 504 or 505 may be in Form 2.

Marginal note:Justice to hear informant and witnesses — public prosecutions

• 507 (1) Subject to subsection 523(1.1), a justice who receives an information laid under section 504 by a peace officer, a public officer, the Attorney General or the Attorney General’s agent, other than an information laid before the justice under section 505, shall, except if an accused has already been arrested with or without a warrant,

  • (a) hear and consider, ex parte,

    • (i) the allegations of the informant, and

    • (ii) the evidence of witnesses, where he considers it desirable or necessary to do so; and

  • (b) where he considers that a case for so doing is made out, issue, in accordance with this section, either a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the accused to compel the accused to attend before him or some other justice for the same territorial division to answer to a charge of an offence.

• Marginal note:Process compulsory

  (2) No justice shall refuse to issue a summons or warrant by reason only that the alleged offence is one for which a person may be arrested without warrant.

• Marginal note:Procedure when witnesses attend

  (3) A justice who hears the evidence of a witness pursuant to subsection (1) shall

  • (a) take the evidence on oath; and

  • (b) cause the evidence to be taken in accordance with section 540 in so far as that section is capable of being applied.

• Marginal note:Summons to be issued except in certain cases

  (4) Where a justice considers that a case is made out for compelling an accused to attend before him to answer to a charge of an offence, he shall issue a summons to the accused unless the allegations of the informant or the evidence of any witness or witnesses taken in accordance with subsection (3) discloses reasonable grounds to believe that it is necessary in the public interest to issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused.

• Marginal note:No process in blank

  (5) A justice shall not sign a summons or warrant in blank.

• Marginal note:Endorsement of warrant by justice

  (6) A justice who issues a warrant under this section or section 508, 512, 512.1 or 512.2 may, unless the offence is one listed in section 469, authorize the release of the accused under section 499 by making an endorsement on the warrant in Form 29.

• Marginal note:Undertaking or appearance notice deemed confirmed

  (7) If, under subsection (6), a justice authorizes the release of an accused under section 499, an appearance notice or undertaking referred to in that section shall be deemed, for the purposes of subsection 145(3) or (4), as the case may be, to have been confirmed by a justice under section 508.

• Marginal note:Issue of summons or warrant

  (8) Where, on an appeal from or review of any decision or matter of jurisdiction, a new trial or hearing or a continuance or renewal of a trial or hearing is ordered, a justice may issue either a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the accused in order to compel the accused to attend at the new or continued or renewed trial or hearing.

Marginal note:Referral when private prosecution

• 507.1 (1) A justice who receives an information laid under section 504, other than an information referred to in subsection 507(1), shall refer it to a provincial court judge or, in Quebec, a judge of the Court of Quebec, or to a designated justice, to consider whether to compel the appearance of the accused on the information.

• Marginal note:Summons or warrant

  (2) A judge or designated justice to whom an information is referred under subsection (1) and who considers that a case for doing so is made out shall issue either a summons or warrant for the arrest of the accused to compel him or her to attend before a justice to answer to a charge of the offence charged in the information.

• Marginal note:Conditions for issuance

  (3) The judge or designated justice may issue a summons or warrant only if he or she

  • (a) has heard and considered the allegations of the informant and the evidence of witnesses;

  • (b) is satisfied that the Attorney General has received a copy of the information;

  • (c) is satisfied that the Attorney General has received reasonable notice of the hearing under paragraph (a); and

  • (d) has given the Attorney General an opportunity to attend the hearing under paragraph (a) and to cross-examine and call witnesses and to present any relevant evidence at the hearing.

• Marginal note:Appearance of Attorney General

  (4) The Attorney General may appear at the hearing held under paragraph (3)(a) without being deemed to intervene in the proceeding.

• Marginal note:Information deemed not to have been laid

  (5) If the judge or designated justice does not issue a summons or warrant under subsection (2), he or she shall endorse the information with a statement to that effect. Unless the informant, not later than six months after the endorsement, commences proceedings to compel the judge or designated justice to issue a summons or warrant, the information is deemed never to have been laid.

• Marginal note:Information deemed not to have been laid — proceedings commenced

  (6) If proceedings are commenced under subsection (5) and a summons or warrant is not issued as a result of those proceedings, the information is deemed never to have been laid.

• Marginal note:New evidence required for new hearing

  (7) If a hearing in respect of an offence has been held under paragraph (3)(a) and the judge or designated justice has not issued a summons or a warrant, no other hearings may be held under that paragraph with respect to the offence or an included offence unless there is new evidence in support of the allegation in respect of which the hearing is sought to be held.

• Marginal note:Subsections 507(2) to (8) to apply

  (8) Subsections 507(2) to (8) apply to proceedings under this section.

• Marginal note:Non-application — informations laid under sections 810 and 810.1

  (9) Subsections (1) to (8) do not apply in respect of an information laid under section 810 or 810.1.

• Marginal note:Definition of designated justice

  (10) In this section, designated justice means a justice designated for the purpose by the chief judge of the provincial court having jurisdiction in the matter or, in Quebec, a justice designated by the chief judge of the Court of Quebec.

• Marginal note:Meaning of Attorney General

  (11) In this section, Attorney General includes the Attorney General of Canada and his or her lawful deputy in respect of proceedings that could have been commenced at the instance of the Government of Canada and conducted by or on behalf of that Government.

Marginal note:Justice to hear informant and witnesses

• 508 (1) A justice who receives an information laid before him under section 505 shall

  • (a) hear and consider, ex parte,

    • (i) the allegations of the informant, and

    • (ii) the evidence of witnesses, where he considers it desirable or necessary to do so;

  • (b) if the justice considers that a case for so doing is made out, whether the information relates to the offence alleged in the appearance notice or undertaking or to an included or other offence,

    • (i) confirm the appearance notice or undertaking and endorse the information accordingly, or

    • (ii) cancel the appearance notice or undertaking and issue, in accordance with section 507, either a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the accused to compel the accused to attend before the justice or some other justice for the same territorial division to answer to a charge of an offence and endorse on the summons or warrant that the appearance notice or undertaking has been cancelled; and

  • (c) if the justice considers that a case is not made out for the purposes of paragraph (b), cancel the appearance notice or undertaking and cause the accused to be immediately notified of the cancellation.

• Marginal note:Procedure when witnesses attend

  (2) A justice who hears the evidence of a witness pursuant to subsection (1) shall

  • (a) take the evidence on oath; and

  • (b) cause the evidence to be taken in accordance with section 540 in so far as that section is capable of being applied.

Marginal note:Information laid otherwise than in person

• 508.1 (1) For the purposes of sections 504 to 508, a peace officer may lay an information by any means of telecommunication that produces a writing.

• Marginal note:Alternative to oath

  (2) A peace officer who uses a means of telecommunication referred to in subsection (1) shall, instead of swearing an oath, make a statement in writing stating that all matters contained in the information are true to the officer’s knowledge and belief, and such a statement is deemed to be a statement made under oath.

Marginal note:Summons

• 509 (1) A summons issued under this Part shall

  • (a) be directed to the accused;

  • (b) set out briefly the offence in respect of which the accused is charged; and

  • (c) require the accused to attend court at a time and place to be stated therein and to attend thereafter as required by the court in order to be dealt with according to law.

• Marginal note:Service on individual

  (2) A summons shall be served by a peace officer who shall deliver it personally to the person to whom it is directed or, if that person cannot conveniently be found, shall leave it for him at his latest or usual place of abode with an inmate thereof who appears to be at least sixteen years of age.

• (3) [Repealed, 2008, c. 18, s. 17]

• Marginal note:Summary of certain provisions

  (4) The summons must set out a summary of subsection 145(3), section 512.1 and subsection 524(4).

• Marginal note:Attendance for purposes of Identification of Criminals Act

  (5) A summons may require the accused to appear at a time and place stated in it for the purposes of the Identification of Criminals Act, if the accused is alleged to have committed an offence referred to in paragraph 2(1)(c) of that Act.

510 [Repealed, 2019, c. 25, s. 222]

Marginal note:Contents of warrant to arrest

• 511 (1) A warrant issued under this Part shall

  • (a) name or describe the accused;

  • (b) set out briefly the offence in respect of which the accused is charged; and

  • (c) order that the accused be forthwith arrested and brought before the judge or justice who issued the warrant or before some other judge or justice having jurisdiction in the same territorial division, to be dealt with according to law.

• Marginal note:No return day

  (2) A warrant issued under this Part remains in force until it is executed and need not be made returnable at any particular time.

• Marginal note:Discretion to postpone execution

  (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(c), a judge or justice who issues a warrant may specify in the warrant the period before which the warrant shall not be executed, to allow the accused to appear voluntarily before a judge or justice having jurisdiction in the territorial division in which the warrant was issued.

• Marginal note:Deemed execution of warrant

  (4) Where the accused appears voluntarily for the offence in respect of which the accused is charged, the warrant is deemed to be executed.

Marginal note:Certain actions not to preclude issue of warrant

• 512 (1) A justice may, where the justice has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that it is necessary in the public interest to issue a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the accused, issue a summons or warrant, notwithstanding that

  • (a) an appearance notice or undertaking has been confirmed or cancelled under subsection 508(1);

  • (b) a summons has previously been issued under subsection 507(4); or

  • (c) the accused has been released without conditions or with the intention of compelling their appearance by way of summons.

• Marginal note:Warrant in default of appearance

  (2) Where

  • (a) service of a summons is proved and the accused fails to attend court in accordance with the summons,

  • (b) an appearance notice or undertaking has been confirmed under subsection 508(1) and the accused fails to attend court in accordance with it in order to be dealt with according to law, or

  • (c) it appears that a summons cannot be served because the accused is evading service,

  a justice may issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused.