What are the limitations of the Compagnon CAIJ?

The Compagnon CAIJ cannot reliably answer questions based solely on metadata — such as the name of a judge, a specific court, or judicial authorship — nor can it respond accurately to questions concerning very recent legal developments that have not yet generated reported decisions.

For example, it cannot reliably respond to:

• “What are all the decisions authored by Justice X?”
• “I am looking for Québec contract law decisions written by Justice Benoît Moore.”

At this time, the Compagnon CAIJ analyzes the content of judgments but cannot reliably attribute decisions to a specific judge. As a result, it may retrieve decisions referencing an individual whose name matches that of the judge searched.

Certain questions requiring structured data analysis may also exceed the tool’s current capabilities. For example:

• “What is the typical quantum of damages for offence X?”

The available data is not yet systematically organized by legal domain or offence type, which may limit precision.

Finally, where a recent legislative reform has not yet resulted in reported decisions, the Compagnon CAIJ may retrieve authorities under the prior legal framework. For example:

• “Can an assistant to the person of full age can sign in the place and stead of a person of full age for the sale of their residence?”

Although the relevant provision of the Civil Code of Québec and related secondary sources may be identified, only decisions under the former regime (adviserships) may be available if no reported decisions have yet been rendered under the new framework at the time this FAQ was drafted.The Compagnon CAIJ cannot reliably answer questions based solely on metadata — such as the name of a judge, a specific court, or judicial authorship — nor can it respond accurately to questions concerning very recent legal developments that have not yet generated reported decisions.

For example, it cannot reliably respond to:

• “What are all the decisions authored by Justice X?”
• “I am looking for Québec contract law decisions written by Justice Benoît Moore.”

At this time, the Compagnon CAIJ analyzes the content of judgments but cannot reliably attribute decisions to a specific judge. As a result, it may retrieve decisions referencing an individual whose name matches that of the judge searched.

Certain questions requiring structured data analysis may also exceed the tool’s current capabilities. For example:

• “What is the typical quantum of damages for offence X?”

The available data is not yet systematically organized by legal domain or offence type, which may limit precision.

Finally, where a recent legislative reform has not yet resulted in reported decisions, the Compagnon CAIJ may retrieve authorities under the prior legal framework. For example:

• “Can an assistant to the person of full age can sign in the place and stead of a person of full age for the sale of their residence?”

Although the relevant provision of the Civil Code of Québec and related secondary sources may be identified, only decisions under the former regime (adviserships) may be available if no reported decisions have yet been rendered under the new framework at the time this FAQ was drafted.