Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal is the highest court in the province, hearing appeals and reviews from the two trial courts as well as appeals and reviews from administrative boards and tribunals.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the superior trial court for the province and hears both civil and criminal cases, as well as some appeals from the Provincial Court.
Provincial Court
The Provincial Court is the first level of trial court in British Columbia and hears criminal, criminal youth, family, child protection, small claims, and traffic cases.

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

March 30, 2020
SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - SUSPENSION OF ALL REGULAR COURT OPERATIONS - CIVIL AND FAMILY MATTERS (Revised March 30, 2020)

Effective March 19, 2020 and until further notice, the Honourable Chief Justice Hinkson has suspended regular operations of the Supreme Court of British Columbia at all of its locations to protect the health and safety of court users and to help contain the spread of COVID-19. This updated Notice includes some changes to the Court's operations in respect of civil and family proceedings effective March 30, 2020. For more details click here.

 

March 30, 2020
SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - SUSPENSION OF ALL REGULAR COURT OPERATIONS - CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS (Revised March 30, 2020)

Effective March 19, 2020 and until further notice, the Honourable Chief Justice Hinkson has suspended regular operations of the Supreme Court of British Columbia at all of its locations to protect the health and safety of court users and to help contain the spread of COVID-19. This updated Notice includes some changes to the Court's operations in respect of criminal proceedings effective March 30, 2020. For more details click here.

 

March 30, 2020
UPDATED NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE COURT OF APPEAL'S RESPONSE TO COVID-19

This updated Notice to the Public replaces the Notice to the Public issued by the Chief Justice of British Columbia on 17 March 2020 (effective 18 March 2020). It reflects changes to the court's operations related to Ministerial Order No. M086 regarding the suspension of timelines to commence civil or family proceedings.

 

March 30, 2020
APPLICATIONS UNDER S. 490 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE (FURTHER DETENTION OF THINGS SEIZED) DURING THE SUSPENSION OF SUPREME COURT OPERATIONS

During the COVID-19 health emergency, the Supreme Court is implementing new procedures for s. 490 applications.  For more details, click here. 

 

March 27, 2020
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING AFFIDAVITS FOR USE IN COURT PROCEEDINGS

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and the Provincial Court of British Columbia will make accommodations for the commissioning of affidavits in circumstances where it is not possible or is medically unsafe for the deponent to attend before a commissioner. All three levels of court will follow the same process, set out in the directives linked below:

Court of Appeal for British Columbia

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Provincial Court of British Columbia

 

March 27, 2020
SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - CHANGES TO COURTROOM PROCEDURES FOR IN-PERSON COURT APPEARANCES

In order to protect the health and safety of court users, court staff and others and to help limit the spread of COVID-19, new procedures are being implemented for hearings where there counsel, parties, media and the public are attending in person. For more details click here.

 

March 23, 2020
NOTICE TO ACCREDITED MEDIA REGARDING ACCESS TO COURT OF APPEAL PROCEEDINGS

The Court of Appeal for British Columbia recognizes the critical importance of the open courts principle, including in the exceptional circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Court proceedings have temporarily been limited and modified, but they must remain open to public scrutiny and media plays a special role in that regard. The Court of Appeal is taking the following steps to ensure that accredited media continue to have options for observing and reporting on court proceedings during this exceptional time:

  • The Court of Appeal's weekly hearing list is updated daily here.
  • The Court of Appeal's upcoming judgment list is also updated daily here.
  • Members of the accredited media should watch the hearing list, and, if they wish to observe, they should contact the Honourable Bruce Cohen, Superior Courts Communications Officer, at SCJCommunicationsOfficer@bccourts.ca, for more information about how they can participate (e.g. by dialing into a teleconference). Media participation in court proceedings taking place by telephone may be subject to limits on the number of callers that can be connected through a single teleconference number.
  • For access to audio recordings please review and submit an access request form available here.

 

March 21, 2020
COURTHOUSE CLOSURES - UPDATED

The Chilliwack Law Courts and the Nanaimo Law Courts will reopen on March 23, 2020.

The Campbell River Law Courts will remain closed until April 6, 2020.

For more information click here.

 

March 18, 2020
SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - CLOSURE OF COURTHOUSES AND SUSPENSION OF ALL REGULAR COURT OPERATIONS

As part of the Court's efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia has ordered the suspension of all regular operations, effective immediately and until further notice. It is a constitutional imperative that the courts must remain open; however, in light of the extraordinary circumstances during the current public health emergency, members of the public who do not have urgent business before the court are discouraged from attending any courthouse. Any matter scheduled for an appearance today shall proceed unless the presiding judge orders otherwise. All regular hearings scheduled after today are adjourned indefinitely.

Adjustments will be made to accommodate the hearing of urgent matters. Further details concerning urgent and emergency matters and the running of timelines will follow shortly.

 

March 17, 2020
COURT OF APPEAL FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA - STRICTLY LIMITED COURT OPERATIONS

To protect the health of litigants, court staff, judges and members of the public and to help contain the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Court of Appeal is strictly limiting its operations through this direction by the Chief Justice of British Columbia, effective 18 March 2020, and until further notice.

 

March 13, 2020
COURT OF APPEAL FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA MODIFIED PROCEEDINGS

As a result of the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19, the Court of Appeal is, effective immediately, instituting modifications to its normal operations. For more details click here.

 

March 13, 2020
BC COURTS' RESPONSE TO COVID-19

In response to the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Provincial Court of British Columbia ("Courts") have developed a coordinated approach to manage impacts of the virus on the operations of the Courts. For more details click here.

 

March 12, 2020
NOVEL CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK (COVID-19)

British Columbia is experiencing an increase in cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and it is anticipated that the virus will continue to spread. The Court of Appeal for British Columbia and the Supreme Court of British Columbia continue to monitor information and take guidance from public health officials and are taking steps to try to ensure the safety and health of the members of the public who interact with the Court. READ MORE

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