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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.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
September 1, 2023AMENDMENTS TO THE CIVIL AND FAMILY RULES: REVISION OF INFORMATION SHEETS RE TRIAL BRIEFS AND TRIAL CERTIFICATE, RECISSION OF FPD-6, FPD-18, PD-49, PD-51 and AN-13, REVISIONS TO PD-4 AND PD-28 AND NEW FPD-19
A number of amendments to the Supreme Court Family Rules and Supreme Court Civil Rules take effect on September 1, 2023, pursuant to OIC No. 425-2023
As a consequence of these amendments, the following information sheets have been updated:
- Trial Brief Information Sheet, which provides guidance on filing requirements for trial briefs and examples of filing deadline calculations; and
- Trial Certificate Information Sheet, which provides guidance on filing requirements for trial certificates and examples of filing deadline calculations.
- Family Practice Direction 6 – Short Notice Applications – Family;
- Family Practice Direction 18 – Applications made by Requisition pursuant to Supreme Court Family Rules 7-1(4), 14-3(4), 22-1(3) and (4) and 22-6(4);
- Practice Direction 49 – Applications by Requisition & Supporting Letter pursuant to Supreme Court Civil Rules 5-1(3), 5-2(3)(a), 5-2(3)(b), 12-2(4) and 23-5(4);
- Practice Direction 51 – Consent Order to Dispense with Trial Management Conference in Civil Cases; and
- Administrative Notice 13 – Inclusion of Trial Briefs in the Trial Record.
Please be advised that Chief Justice Hinkson has revised two practice directions and issued family practice direction 19.
- Practice Direction 4 – Case Planning and Judicial Management of Actions, has been updated, including to clarify that case planning and judicial management is available in family actions as well as in civil actions, and to include reference to family Form F19.2 (Notice of Case Planning Conference).
- Practice Direction 28 – Chambers Practice, has been updated to remove reference to filing timelines for application and petition records, which are included in the civil and family rules effective September 1, 2023.
- Family Practice Direction 19 – Applications made by Requisition, Supreme Court Family Rules 22-1(3) and (4) – Judicial Case Conferences, provides that applications for directions that a person may attend a JCC by telephone, video conference or other communications medium, and the manner in which a JCC is to be conducted, may be made by filing a Requisition in Form F19.1.
August 28, 2023
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT - JUSTICE GARETH MORLEY
The Supreme Court of British Columbia welcomes the appointment of the Honourable Justice J. Gareth Morley to Victoria. For more information, please see the press release issued by the Department of Justice.
A public welcoming ceremony for Justice Morley will be held on a date to be scheduled. Information about the welcoming ceremony will be posted on the Court’s website.
August 14, 2023
AMENDMENTS TO CRIMINAL PRACTICE DIRECTION 4 (CPD-4) – PROCEDURE FOR DETENTION REVIEWS UNDER S. 525 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE
Amendments have been made to CPD-4, which take effect immediately. Please review the revised CPD-4 by clicking here, or by visiting the Criminal Practice Direction page. Amendments of note include:
- A new procedure to apply to end the s. 525 detention review process due to ineligibility;
- A limit on the use of the Adjournment Form to adjourn the Scheduling Hearing; and
- A new process to expedite the transcript ordering process at the Scheduling Hearing.
The revised CPD-4 is in the process of being translated into French.
August 14, 2023
CRIMINAL PRACTICE DIRECTION 6 (CPD-6) – APPEARANCES BY COUNSEL AND ACCUSED PERSONS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
Criminal Practice Direction 6, Appearances by Counsel and Accused Persons in Criminal Proceedings has been issued by Associate Chief Justice Holmes and will take effect on September 5, 2023. COVID-19 Notice 51 (Method of Attendance for Criminal Proceedings) and COVID-19 Notice 30 (Applications under s. 490 of the Criminal Code (Further Detention of Things Seized) during the pandemic are rescinded effective September 5, 2023.
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.
COVID-19 NOTICES
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.
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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