The Laws of Quebec

If you are somehow connected to law in Canada it is important to remember one territorial problem. While the most of Canadian provinces are following the common law legal tradition, the province of Quebec has a hybrid system. For historical reasons, private law in Quebec follows the civil law tradition and public law is based on the common law. So you won’t get confused the main document regulating the civil law in Quebec is the Civil Code of Quebec that came into effect in 1994 as a result of a reform that was started about 40 years earlier.

One of the differences is related to the French language. Quebec has a law that protects and encourages the use of the French language on the territory of this province. It is entitled the Charter of the French Language. If a license agreement is written in the Province of Quebec it can be in English or in French. But if it is written in English in certain circumstances one of its paragraphs should be in French language and state that the parties have asked that the contract be written in English. The Charter also states that "signs and posters and commercial advertising shall be solely in the French language." As for trademarks all the trademarks in a language other than French adopted before the Charter came in force (August 26, 1977) can be used. As for new trademarks, they must be in French, so lots of manufacturers license an extra French trademark for the Quebec market. The trademark itself in Quebec is considered an incorporeal moveable property, unless the parties provided an agreement stating that property is governed by the law of the domicile of its owner. Still if a question involved relates to the nature of the property and to the jurisdiction of the courts and procedure, the law of the Province is applied.

In Quebec provisional orders for interlocutory injunctions can be obtained very fast from Superior Court Judges sitting in chambers. Such injunctions are valid for ten days and can be renewed until the interlocutory injunction proceedings are heard, also an order granting an interlocutory injunction is valid until judgment on the merits.

Also the law of the province allows both parties to sign a license agreement that specifies the domicile in a foreign jurisdiction and determines the law under which the agreement will be governed. Still the courts of the defendant party are mostly the only courts able to issue effective injunctive orders against the defendant and to award damages to the plaintiff. So if a judgment is rendered in the United States it can not be enforced in Quebec if it is not confirmed by a decision of a Quebec court

Apart from all the legal differences even becoming a practicing lawyer in Quebec is different. In addition to a civil law degree, a completed stage (apprenticeship) a lawyer must also have an admission course. Also lawyers that are trained in either common law or civil law may not practice in Quebec without undergoing further training in one or the other legal system. As you see Quebec has many differences in law related issues so be sure to do the smartest thing before you start any lawsuit, be sure to consult your lawyer.