APRIL - JUNE 2025

June 27, 2025
NEW PRACTICE DIRECTION - FRENCH LANGUAGE AND BILINGUAL DIVORCE ACT PROCEEDINGS

Section 23.2 of the Divorce Act regarding official languages (English and French) came into force in British Columbia on December 1, 2024, at which time the Supreme Court Family Rules were also amended to add new Rule 20-7 (Divorce Act Proceedings) pursuant to OIC 432/2024.

Chief Justice Skolrood has issued new Family Practice Direction 20 - French Language and Bilingual Divorce Act Proceedings, which provides guidance and timelines for matters addressed in new Supreme Court Family Rule 20-7 for the purpose of facilitating scheduling of Divorce Act proceedings conducted in whole or in part in the French language.

Chief Justice Skolrood has also amended the Litigants' Guide to Judicial Case Conferences and the Judicial Case Conference Case Management Form, which are both referenced in Family Practice Direction 12 - Judicial Case Conferences.

June 27, 2025
FRENCH LANGUAGE MATERIALS - CRIMINAL AND DIVORCE ACT PROCEEDINGS


A new tab titled Instances en français (French Proceedings) has been created as a repository for French language materials. The French Proceedings tab contains two subtabs, one for criminal law proceedings and one for Divorce Act proceedings, with relevant French language materials.

The French Proceedings page contains the French language documents previously available on the English language Criminal Practice Directions page. The Divorce Act proceedings page contains the Court's working copies of unofficial French language translations of official English language legislation and court issued documents, including the Family Law Act (except Part 6), the Supreme Court Family Rules, and many of the Court's practice directions and administrative notices. These translations are subject to change by the Court, and users are advised to ensure they are referring to the most recent versions, as published on this webpage.

June 23, 2025
CPD-4 - PROCEDURE FOR DETENTION REVIEWS UNDER s. 525 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE

Associate Chief Justice Holmes has issued a revised version of CPD-4. The main change is to extend the timeframe during which counsel may use the Adjournment Form to adjourn a scheduling hearing. CPD-4 and the related forms can be found by clicking here.

June 20, 2025
KAMLOOPS LAW COURTS - APPLICATION AND PETITION RECORDS - EXTENSION OF FILING DEADLINE

Chief Justice Skolrood has extended the deadline to today for any party who was required to file an application record, petition record or hearing record to the registry in Kamloops on June 19, 2025, pursuant to the Supreme Court Civil Rules or the Supreme Court Family Rules.

June 19, 2025
COURTHOUSE CLOSURE - KAMLOOPS LAW COURTS - JUNE 19, 2025

The Kamloops Law Courts are closed for the remainder of today. If you have an appearance scheduled in the Supreme Court in Kamloops today and require further information, please contact Supreme Court Scheduling at 250.828.4351.

It is expected that the Kamloops Law Courts will reopen tomorrow.

The Provincial Court is also located in the Kamloops Law Courts. For more information about the Provincial Court in Kamloops, please consult the Provincial Court website.

June 6, 2025
PRACTICE DIRECTION 24 - WITNESS OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS

Chief Justice Skolrood has updated Practice Direction 24 - Witness Oaths and Affirmations, which describes some administrative aspects of oaths and affirmations in court proceedings including the use of religious or cultural items other than the Bible.

June 5, 2025
PORT COQUITLAM LAW COURTS - SUPREME COURT REGISTRY OPENING

• On Monday, June 9, 2025, a new Supreme Court registry will open at the Port Coquitlam Law Courts and full registry services will be available. The address for the Port Coquitlam Law Courts is:

  2620 Mary Hill Road
  Port Coquitlam BC V3C 3B2

• Parties who file a notice of civil claim or a notice of family claim may indicate Port Coquitlam as the place of trial.
  
  
• Any Supreme Court proceeding except a criminal trial or a civil jury trial can be scheduled in Port Coquitlam, including summary conviction appeals, bail hearings/reviews, detention review hearings, judicial case conferences, trial management conferences, case planning conferences, civil or family trials and civil or family summary trials.
  
  
• All hearings in Port Coquitlam will be scheduled according to the assize system.
  
  
• A regular chambers day for Judges and Associate Judges will be determined at a later date.
  
  
• Parties who have a civil or family trial scheduled in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, New Westminster or Vancouver are invited to consider applying to move their trial to Port Coquitlam. Please contact Supreme Court Scheduling for more information at sc.scheduling_pc@bccourts.ca or 604.927.2255.
  
  
• Parties who wish to move their civil or family trial to Port Coquitlam must follow the processes in the Supreme Court Civil Rules or the Supreme Court Family Rules for applying to change the place of trial. Where the parties consent to changing the place of trial, parties may apply by way of desk order. The Court cannot guarantee that parties who choose to move their trial to Port Coquitlam will be able to secure the same trial dates.
  
  
• Renovations to some of the Supreme Court courtrooms in Port Coquitlam is required in order to accommodate criminal trials and jury trials. It is anticipated these renovations will be completed in the fall of 2026. Further directions for the scheduling of criminal trials and jury proceedings will be provided once the renovations are completed.

June 2, 2025
CALL AND ADMISSION CEREMONY - FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2025

This event will take place in the Great Hall at the Vancouver Law Courts at 9:30 am and 1:30 pm. The ceremony will be conducted by the Honourable Justice Bruce Elwood in the morning and the Honourable Justice Elizabeth McDonald in the afternoon.

May 30, 2025
FEEDBACK INVITED: SUPREME COURT'S ROLE IN ADVANCING RECONCILIATION

As announced in the BC Supreme Court’s 2024 Annual Report, the Court has struck a Reconciliation Working Group (RWG). The RWG is informed by the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the Calls to Action, and has been established to examine the Court’s role in advancing reconciliation. The Court invites those who are interested - including Indigenous Peoples or organizations, members of the bar or the public, or those with matters before the Court - to suggest ways that this might be done.

Comments can be provided by email to ReconciliationFeedback@bccourts.ca until September 30, 2025.
April 25, 2025
CRIMINAL PRACTICE DIRECTION 10 (CPD-10) - LANGUAGE OF THE ACCUSED

Associate Chief Justice Holmes has issued Criminal Practice Direction 10 (CPD-10), which revises the process for ensuring an accused person has been advised of their official language rights under s. 530 of the Criminal Code. Where an accused person has been so advised in the Provincial Court, a new inquiry will generally not be necessary in the Supreme Court. CPD-10 also introduces the option of counsel advising the accused person of their s. 530 rights, completing a form with the accused person, and filing it at the appropriate Supreme Court Registry. A copy of CPD-10 can be found here. The French version can be found here.

April 15, 2025
CRIMINAL PRACTICE DIRECTION 9 (CPD-9) - RESTRICTION ON PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION FROM CONFERENCES IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Associate Chief Justice Holmes has issued Criminal Practice Direction 9 (CPD-9) which imposes an automatic, temporary ban on publication of information disclosed during pre-trial or other conferences in criminal proceedings, except for information about the scheduling of future appearances and the nature of the appearances. CPD-9 is effective April 16, 2025, and can be found here.

April 14, 2025
JOB OPENING: ASSOCIATE JUDGE, SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has an opening in Vancouver for an Associate Judge. Details about this opportunity, including a detailed job profile, job requirements, and instructions for submitting an application, are available here. The closing date for the competition is Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 11:00 pm Pacific Time.

*Amendment April 14, 2025: The closing date for the competition has been extended to April 30, 2025 at 11:00 pm Pacific Time.

April 4, 2025
WELCOMING CEREMONY - THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE JOHN WALKER, THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE RICHARD FOWLER, THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE MARK UNDERHILL AND THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE JULIA LAWN

On Thursday, May 1, 2025 the Court will hold a formal ceremony to welcome The Honourable Justice John Walker, The Honourable Justice Richard Fowler, The Honourable Justice Mark Underhill and The Honourable Justice Julia Lawn to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m., in The Great Hall of The Law Courts at Vancouver.

NOTE: Cameras are permitted at this ceremony

April 4, 2025
WELCOMING CEREMONY - THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE RICHARD HEWSON

On Friday, May 16, 2025 the Court will hold a formal ceremony to welcome The Honourable Justice Richard Hewson to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The ceremony will begin at 4:15 p.m., in Courtroom 1 of The Law Courts at Kelowna.

NOTE: Cameras are permitted at this ceremony

April 4, 2025
WELCOMING CEREMONY - THE HONOURABLE MADAM JUSTICE LORIANNA BENNETT

On Wednesday, April 30, 2025 the Court will hold a formal ceremony to welcome The Honourable Madam Justice Lorianna Bennett to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The ceremony will begin at 4:15 p.m., in Courtroom 5D of The Law Courts at Kamloops.

NOTE: Cameras are permitted at this ceremony

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