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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
November 17, 2023
NO MASTERS SITTING AT SPECIFIC SUPREME COURT REGISTRIES FROM DECEMBER 1 to JANUARY 31
Chief Justice Hinkson has issued a Notice directing that, due to winter conditions, masters will not be sitting in Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Nelson, Quesnel, Rossland, Smithers, and Williams Lake each year between December 1 and January 31.
This Notice replaces a similar Notice issued by Chief Justice Hinkson on November 15, 2022, which set out a similar direction for the period of December 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023.
November 10, 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 Chambers Pilot Project, which allows for electronic filing of chambers application records in PDF format through Court Services Online,
will be expanded on December 4, 2023. The Project was initially available for applications scheduled for 30 minutes or less in Masters chambers at court locations on Vancouver Island (Campbell River, Courtenay, Duncan, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, and Victoria) and in Powell River.
The Project expanded to include court locations in the interior region (Cranbrook, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nelson, Penticton, Rossland, Salmon Arm and Vernon) on June 19, 2023 and to court locations in the northern region (Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Prince George, Quesnel, Smithers and Terrace) on October 23, 2023.
The Project is now being expanded to applications scheduled for 30 minutes or less in Masters chambers at court locations in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and New Westminster, commencing December 4, 2023.
Detailed instructions about working with PDFs can be found here.
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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