Supreme Court

About the Supreme Court About the Supreme Court Judicial Independence and Accountability Judges, Associate Judges & Registrars Court Policies Speeches & Statements Annual Reports & Publications Registrar's Office Judicial Law Clerk Program FAQ

Judgments About Judgments Recent Judgments Search Judgments

Hearing Lists

Scheduling

Court Locations & Contacts

Rules, Procedures & Forms Acts, Rules, and Forms Administrative Notices Civil Practice Directions Family Practice Directions Criminal Practice Directions Associate Judges Chambers Pilot Project Model Orders Criminal Law Orders Civil and Family Law Orders Registrar's Office Electronic Evidence Project COVID-19 Notices

Instances en français Instances en droit pénal Instances engagées sous le régime de la Loi sur le divorce

Self-Represented Litigants

Media, Publication Bans & Policies Media Publication Bans Notifications Search Court Policies

Judicial Law Clerk Program

Link to Court Services Online

Quick Links

Email page

Print page

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 judges. The legislation also provides for supernumerary judges who sit hearing cases part-time. There are also 13 Supreme Court associate judges 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

July 6, 2026
AMENDMENTS TO THE SUPREME COURT CIVIL RULES AND THE SUPREME COURT FAMILY RULES

Effective October 1, 2026, the procedure for bringing applications under Rule 8-1 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules and Rule 10-6 of the Supreme Court Family Rules will change, moving from the current "file and serve" approach to a "serve and file" method. Parties will be required to exchange materials before setting an application for hearing and before filing materials.

The changes aim to facilitate timely access to regular and long chambers. The process is intended to support efficient use of court time by encouraging parties and counsel to engage in early discussions and focus the issues in dispute, improving time estimates, reducing adjournment applications, and reducing the volume of applications that are set down and which do not proceed to hearing.

The new procedure will include the following steps:

A party who wishes to bring an application must serve a notice of application and supporting affidavits on the application respondent before filing the materials;
An application respondent must serve its application response and supporting affidavits on the applicant before filing the materials;
An applicant will set an application for hearing by filing the notice of application and supporting affidavits, and filing and serving a notice of hearing of application; and
An application must not be set for hearing until the application respondent has served its materials or the time for doing so has expired.

Please see OIC No. 264/2026 for more detail about these changes and other amendments to the Supreme Court Civil Rules and the Supreme Court Family Rules. More information will follow before the changes take effect on October 1, 2026.

July 6, 2026
PRACTICE DIRECTION 75 - CHAMBERS PRACTICE

Chief Justice Skolrood has issued Practice Direction 75 - Chambers Practice, effective today. Chambers is an essential part of the civil and family justice system and a shared public resource.

There are too few judges and associate judges to meet the demand for chambers hearings, and it is therefore essential that hearings proceed efficiently so that the Court may hear and resolve as many matters as possible in a timely way. This requires parties and counsel to comply with the Supreme Court Civil Rules and the Supreme Court Family Rules governing chambers proceedings, and to properly prepare materials and adhere to time estimates.

PD-75 clarifies expectations regarding chambers practice, including compliance with the Rules and the consequences which may follow if those requirements are not met. PD-75 takes into consideration the extensive feedback the Court received through its public consultation about chambers.

June 23, 2026
BOOKING LENGTHY CHAMBERS ONLINE - FURTHER NOTICE

Chief Justice Skolrood has issued a further notice regarding changes to online booking for long chambers hearings in civil and family matters.

June 9, 2026
VIRTUAL CHAMBERS HAS EXPANDED TO NEW WESTMINSTER

As of June 1, 2026, short applications (30 minutes or less) scheduled before an associate judge may be set in virtual chambers in all court locations, except in the Vancouver Regi stry.

Please review Practice Direction 72 - Electronic Application Records (Associate Judges Chambers Pilot Project) and Practice Direction 73 - Virtual Chambers (Associate Judges Chamber Pilot Project), which were issued on March 31, 2026.

More information, and the list of virtual chambers hearing dates, is available here.

(Announcements Archive)

TOP