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Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the province's superior trial court. The Supreme Court is a court of general and inherent jurisdiction which means that it can hear any type of case, civil or criminal. It hears most appeals from the Provincial Court in civil and criminal cases and appeals from arbitrations. A party may appeal a decision of the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 443, provides for a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, an Associate Chief Justice, and 95 other justices. The legislation also provides for supernumerary judges who sit hearing cases part-time. There are also 14 Supreme Court masters who hear and dispose of a wide variety of applications in chambers. The Supreme Court also has a Registrar who hears assessments relating to bills of costs, reviews lawyers' accounts, settles orders, references of various types and deals with bankruptcy discharge applications.
COVID-19 NOTICES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
| NOTE: All notices are subject to change. Please refer to the Index for a list of the current notices as well as those that have been rescinded and replaced. |
To subscribe to the Jury Returning notification service to receive an alert when the jury in a trial is returning to the courtroom, please click here.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
June 1, 2023
NOTICE TO THE PROFESSION, THE PUBLIC AND THE MEDIA REGARDING CIVIL AND FAMILY PROCEEDINGS– EXPANSION OF THE MASTERS CHAMBERS PILOT
As set out in the Masters Chambers Pilot Project Notice, the Masters Chambers Pilot Project (the “Project”), which allows for electronic filing of chambers application records in PDF format through Court Services Online, will be expanded commencing on June 19, 2023. The Project was initially available for applications scheduled for 30 minutes or less in Masters chambers at registries on Vancouver Island (Campbell River, Courtenay, Duncan, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, and Victoria) and in Powell River. The Project is now being expanded to applications scheduled for 30 minutes or less in Masters chambers at registries in the interior (Cranbrook, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nelson, Penticton, Rossland, Salmon Arm and Vernon). If the Project continues to be successful, it will be expanded to other areas of the province and to longer matters.
Detailed instructions about working with PDFs can be found here.
June 1, 2023
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT – JUSTICE BRADFORD F. SMITH
The Supreme Court of British Columbia welcomes the appointment of the Honourable Justice Bradford F. Smith to Kamloops. For more information, please see the press release issued by the Department of Justice.
A public welcoming ceremony for Justice Smith will be held on a date to be scheduled. Information about the welcoming ceremony will be posted on the Court’s website.
April 17, 2023
GOLDEN LAW COURTS – TEMPORARY ALTERNATE LOCATIONS
As a result of a fire that destroyed the Golden Law Courts, the Supreme Court is, on an interim basis, operating from different locations until further notice.
Registry Services
A temporary Supreme Court registry has been established at 1104 9th St. South, Golden, BC. Due to limited space there, please consider filing documents using Court Services Online or by mail whenever possible.
| Temporary Mailing Address | PO Box 1500, Golden, BC V0A 1H0 |
Registry Phone |
1-250-344-7581 |
Temporary Physical Address |
1104 9th St. South, Golden, BC |
Trials, Chambers and Other Appearances
Until further notice, trials, chambers applications and other appearances will be relocated to Cranbrook Law Courts unless the court otherwise orders.
| Physical Address | 102 - 11th Avenue South, Cranbrook, BC |
Court Registry Phone |
250-426-1234 |
Supreme Court Scheduling |
250-828-4351 (local) |
As this situation evolves, updates will be posted on the Supreme Court website. The Supreme Court is co-located with the Provincial Court in Golden. For information about the Provincial Court operations in Golden, please contact the Provincial Court.
CURRENT COVID-19 NOTICES
July 15, 2022
COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 54 – MASTERS CHAMBERS PILOT STARTING AUGUST 15, 2022
As set out in COVID-19 Notice No. 54, the Masters Chamber Pilot, commencing on August 15, 2022, will provide a means by which counsel can submit electronic chambers application records in PDF format through Court Services Online. Initially the Pilot will be available for matters 30 minutes or less at registries on Vancouver Island (Campbell River, Courtenay, Duncan, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, and Victoria) and Powell River. If the Pilot is successful, it will be expanded to other areas of the province and to longer matters. Detailed instructions about working with PDFs can be found here.
June 22, 2022
COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 53 - CRIMINAL JURY TRIALS AFTER AUGUST 15, 2022
Effective August 15, 2022, there will be changes to criminal jury proceedings in accordance with an incremental return to pre-pandemic practice. Please click here for more information.
December 1, 2021
COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 29 - CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS - COVID PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCES (CV PTC)
COVID-19 Notice No. 29 - Notice Regarding Criminal Proceedings: COVID Pre-trial Conferences (CV PTC) has been rescinded, and CV PTCs will no longer be offered in criminal proceedings. CV PTCs were introduced for cases affected by the temporary suspension of trials early in the pandemic, and have not been scheduled in the past 10 months.
September 17, 2021
COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 44 – USE OF THE FILE TRANSFER SERVER – INSOLVENCY AND OTHER PROCEEDINGS
COVID-19 Notice No. 44 has been revised to indicate that the Court may direct parties to use the File Transfer Server (FTS) in any kind of proceeding. Parties in insolvency proceedings only can request use of FTS.
In all proceedings, parties using the FTS must adhere to the document formatting standards set out in COVID-19 Notice No. 44.
June 30, 2020
COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 30 - CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS - APPLICATIONS UNDER S. 490 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE (FURTHER DETENTION OF THINGS SEIZED)
During the COVID-19 health emergency, the Supreme Court implemented a temporary procedure for s. 490 applications. This updated Notices describes some changes to the procedure. For more details, click here.
May 26, 2020
COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 24 – FILING OF AFFIDAVITS OF SERVICE AND DELIVERY – CIVIL AND FAMILY MATTERS
Parties not appearing in person before the Court as a result of measures put in place during the public health emergency are required to file their affidavits of service or delivery and may do so by e-filing. For more information, click here.
March 27, 2020
COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 2 - 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
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