What Is "Urgent" Enough? Update On Procedural Priorities During The COVID-19 Lockdown

The coronavirus has proven infectious to court dockets too. With no precedent for a disruption of this scale, a unique and uncertain strain of jurisprudence has emerged. Most, if not all, COVID-19 case law to date is procedural: will matters move forward at all and, if so, how? In this unfamiliar context, words like "urgent" and "time-sensitive" have taken on a new and evolving meaning.

Building on previous updates by Gowling WLG lawyers, we look at how judges in civil courts are prioritizing matters, and defining degrees of "urgency" (standards of "urgency" are different in criminal and family courts, neither of which we discuss in this article).

Even if restrictions lift in the coming weeks, this jurisprudence is likely to remain relevant as the pandemic unfolds and the world responds to further potential outbreaks.