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
March 28, 2024
SUPREME COURT ANNUAL REPORT 2023
The Annual Report of the Supreme Court of British Columbia covering the activities of the Court for 2023 is now available.
March 4, 2024
CRIMINAL PRACTICE DIRECTION 1 (CPD-1) - CRIMINAL PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE PROCESS
Associate Chief Justice Holmes has amended paragraph 8 of Criminal Practice Direction 1 (CPD-1). CPD-1 now requires that a pre-trial conference for all sexual offences take place at least four months before the scheduled trial. The updated version of CPD-1 can be found here.
February 28, 2024
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS - JUSTICE SANDRA M. SUKSTORF, JUSTICE CHRISTOPHER W. GREENWOOD, JUSTICE MAEGEN M. GILTROW, JUSTICE KARRIE A. WOLFE AND JUSTICE Y. LILIANE BANTOURAKIS
The Supreme Court of British Columbia welcomes the appointment of the Honourable Justice Sandra M. Sukstorf to Port Coquitlam, the Honourable Justice Christopher W. Greenwood and the Honourable Justice Maegen M. Giltrow to Vancouver, the Honourable Justice Karrie A. Wolfe to Victoria and the Honourable Justice Y. Liliane Bantourakis to New Westminster. For more information on the Court’s newest justices, please see the press release issued by the Department of Justice. Public welcoming ceremonies for the new justices will be scheduled and information about the welcoming ceremonies will be posted on the court’s website in due course.
February 28, 2024
JUDICIAL TRANSFER
The Supreme Court of British Columbia announces the transfer of Justice Bruce Elwood to Vancouver from New Westminster as of February 28, 2024.
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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