Email page
Print pageAbout the Supreme Court of British Columbia
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 86 other justices. The legislation also provides for supernumerary judges who sit hearing cases part-time. Including supernumerary judges, there are presently 106 judges. There are also 13 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.
Supreme Court judges sit throughout BC and travel on circuit through the year.
Speeches by Members of the Court
Judicial Law Clerk Program
The Judicial Law Clerk Program at the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of British Columbia was established in 1973. The original aim of the Program was to improve the quality of advocacy in British Columbia. Since its inception, the Judicial Law Clerk Program has provided newly graduated law students a privileged opportunity to observe the judicial system from a unique vantage point. Alumni of the Judicial Law Clerk Program have gone on to careers in private practice, public service and business. In addition, a number of former judicial law clerks are members of the BC Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Provincial Court of British Columbia.
The Supreme Court Registrars' Newsletter is a Question and Answer resource that is used by District Registrars and Deputy District Registrars throughout the province to help clarify registry practice with respect to a number of provincial statutes and the Supreme Court Rules. The Newsletter contains questions from District Registrars and Deputy District Registrars from 1992 to present and is maintained and released by the Manager of the Provincial Registrars' Program.
The Manager of the Provincial Registrar’s Program has prepared a number of information sheets including descriptions of the various hearings that take place before the District Registrar, a glossary of terms used in District Registrar’s hearings and forms necessary to commence hearings before the District Registrar.
The Court Order Interest Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 79 provides for the payment of pre-judgment and post judgment interest at a prescribed rate. The interest rates are adjusted twice annually: on January 1 for the period of January 1 to June 30 and on July 1 for the period from July 1 to December 31.
The Financial Institutions Commissions issues the Authorized Surety List which is a list of companies that are authorized to write surety business in British Columbia. The Financial Institutions Commission is a regulatory agency of the Ministry of Finance responsible for administering legislation that regulates the pension, financial services and real estate sectors in British Columbia. In the event that an individual or company is required to post a bond in respect of a court proceeding, the surety or bond must be written by one of the companies on the list. If the surety or bond is written by a company that is not on the list, the registry will reject the surety or bond. The Authorized Surety List is updated quarterly.