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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 Please refer to the Index for a list of the current notices as well as those that have been rescinded and replaced.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
March 15, 2023
GOLDEN COURTHOUSE CLOSURE – ALTERNATE REGISTRY LOCATION
Following the fire on March 13 that led to the closure of the Golden Courthouse, in-person Court Registry services are now being offered from the Ministry of Children and Family Development Office in Golden at 1104 9th Street South. The mailing address for the interim Registry location is PO Box 1500, Golden, BC, V0A 1H0.
The Registry may also be contacted by email at GoldenCourtRegistry@gov.bc.ca.
The situation continues to be monitored and additional information regarding an alternate location for hearings originally scheduled in Golden will be shared when it becomes available.
The Provincial Court also sits at the Golden Courthouse. For more information about closures affecting the Provincial Court, please contact the Provincial Court.
March 14, 2023
SUPREME COURT CLOSURE – NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION – OCTOBER 2, 2023
In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation which occurs on Saturday, September 30, 2023, all Supreme Court registries throughout the province will be closed on Monday, October 2, 2023. If you are a litigant or counsel and you have a proceeding scheduled to begin or continue on Monday, October 2, 2023, please contact Supreme Court Scheduling at the applicable court location to reschedule. Contact information for Supreme Court Scheduling departments is available here:
https://www.bccourts.ca/supreme_court/court_locations_and_contacts.aspx
March 13, 2023
GOLDEN COURTHOUSE CLOSURE
Sadly, the Golden Courthouse is closed due to a fire. The Supreme Court is working with the government to find an alternate location for hearings that were scheduled at this courthouse.
The situation will continue to be monitored and additional information concerning an alternate location for hearings originally scheduled in Golden will be shared when it becomes available.
The Provincial Court also sits at the Golden Courthouse. For more information about closures affecting the Provincial Court, please contact the Provincial Court.
March 13, 2023
JUDICIAL AND COURT STAFF COVID-19 VACCINATION
Effective April 3, 2023, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Provincial Court of British Columbia will lift the requirement that all judicial and court staff, as well as service providers accessing the secure (non-public) areas of all courthouses, be vaccinated against COVID-19. This is consistent with the recent BC Public Service announcement that as of April 3, 2023 the requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is being removed for all public service employees, including court staff.
This is the announcement from all three BC courts.
March 3, 2023
WELCOMING CEREMONY - JUSTICE JOSEPH DOYLE, JUSTICE KEVIN LOO, AND JUSTICE ANITA CHAN – APRIL 4, 2023
A Welcoming Ceremony for the Honourable Justice Joseph Doyle, Justice Kevin Loo, and Justice Anita Chan will be held on Tuesday, April 4 at the Vancouver Law Courts in Courtroom 55 at 4:15 p.m. Members of the public are invited to attend the Welcoming Ceremony.
CURRENT COVID-19 NOTICES
uly 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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