British Columbia

Court of Appeal of British Columbia

http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/Court_of_Appeal/ 

General Covid-19 Announcement Page

• May 6, 2020 - WATCH A RECORDED APPEAL USING ZOOM - TRENCHARD V. WESTSEA CONSTRUCTION LTD. The appeal hearing in Trenchard v. Westsea Construction Ltd. took place by video conference using Zoom on Tuesday May 5th. You can watch a recording of the proceedings and review the factums at this link. If you wish to use the video recording of this appeal for anything other than personal viewing, please review and adhere to these terms of use. If you have any feedback about the recording, you may write to the Court at Video.Conference.Appeals@bccourts.ca.
• ‍May 4, 2020 - WEBINAR ON MODIFIED COURT OPERATIONS - 8 MAY 2020. Chief Justice Robert J. Bauman, Registrar Timothy Outerbridge and Legal Counsel Shirley Smiley will present information on modified court operations in the Court of Appeal on Friday May 8th from 12:30 to 2:00 pm in a webinar co-hosted by the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch and the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia. The webinar is already fully subscribed, but the Court of Appeal will post a recording of the webinar to this announcements page shortly after it concludes.
• April 29, 2020 - NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING ACCESS TO COURT PROCEEDINGS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. This Notice to the Public provides information about attending court proceedings taking place by video or teleconference, and other information regarding access to court records during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• April 29, 2020 - NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING VIDEOCONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS IN THE COURT OF APPEAL. This Notice to the Public contains detailed information about the video conference hearing process, including etiquette and decorum, for appeals beginning 4 May 2020. It includes a step-by-step guide to appearing in a Zoom video conference proceeding.
• April 29, 2020 - COVID-19 OVERVIEW OF THE APPEAL PROCESS. This flowchart provides an overview of the appeal process. Notes have been added to help people understand how the appeal process has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• April 20, 2020 - UPDATED NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE COURT OF APPEAL'S RESPONSE TO COVID-19 - NEW INFORMATION REGARDING CONTINUATION OF COURT OPERATIONS. This updated Notice to the Public replaces the Notice to the Public issued by the Chief Justice of British Columbia on 30 March 2020. It includes new information regarding the continuation of court operations in the court of appeal for all matters. The Court of Appeal is extending the suspension service and filing deadlines for all existing appeals and chambers applications to 1 June 2020. Despite the suspension of deadlines, the registry is accepting filings in all matters, and parties are encouraged to advance their appeals if they are able to do so. In civil appeals, electronic filing is mandatory for all parties beginning 4 May 2020. Beginning 4 May 2020, the Court will hear all appeals, including those that are not urgent, by videoconferencing using the Zoom platform, unless otherwise directed. Litigants are required to complete the Court Proceedings by Video Conference Form 14 days in advance of their hearing. Beginning 4 May 2020, the Court will hear all chambers applications and Registrar’s appointments, including those that are not urgent, by teleconference or in writing. For all new chambers applications or appointments, litigants must file and serve materials according to the timelines required under the Court of Appeal Act, Court of Appeal Rules, Criminal Code, the Court of Appeal Criminal Rules and the Court’s Civil and Criminal Practice Directives.
• Message from Chief Justice Bauman regarding efforts to increase capacity to hear matters during the COVID-19 pandemic - April 7, 2020
• Notice to the Public Regarding the Court of Appeal for British Columbia’s Response to COVID-19  - March 30, 2020
• Notice to the Public Regarding Affidavits for use in Court Proceedings - 27 March 2020 

Provincial Court of British Columbia

http://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca 

Provincial Court of British Columbia - COVID-19

Current Practice Directions

• May 7, 2020 - NP 21 - NOTICE TO THE PROFESSION AND PUBLIC: GUIDE TO REMOTE PROCEEDINGS. Practice guide for parties appearing at remote proceedings, including step-by-step to using Microsoft Teams for audioconference or videoconference.
• April 28, 2020 - NP 19 - NOTICE TO THE PROFESSION AND PUBLIC: COVID-19: COMMENCING RECOVERY OF SOME COURT OPERATIONS.
• April 28, 2020 - CRIM 12 - PRACTICE DIRECTION: CRIMINAL PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCES DURING COVID-19

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General‍

• COVID-19 FAQs - 23 April 2020
• Message from the Chief Judge (April 28, 2020) - 28 April 2020

Updates

• Message from the Chief Judge - April 17, 2020
• Unsworn and unaffirmed affidavits may be filed with requests for urgent family hearings – see Announcement - April 15, 2020
• Notice to the Profession and Public - COVID-19 Suspension of Regular Court Operations (NP 19) - 14 April 2020
• Chief Judge Memo re: Judicial Authorizations at the Justice Centre during COVID-19 - April 14, 2020
• CRIM 03 Daytime Search Warrant Applications – suspended as of April 14, 2020 until further notice
• Message from the Chief Judge - April 3, 2020
• FAM 07 CFCSA Consent Requisitions - March 27, 2020
• Revised NP 20 - Affidavits for use in Provincial Court Proceedings - 27 March 2020 - During the COVID-19 pandemic, all three BC courts have made 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. See too the BC Court of Appeal and BC Supreme Court directives.
• Provincial Court registries are no longer providing in-person registry services during the suspension of the Court’s regular operations – see Announcement - March 27, 2020
• March 17, 2020 COVID-19 Update
• March 15 & 16, 2020 COVID-19 Updates
• March 12, 2020 COVID-19 Message & Update

Supreme Court of British Columbia

http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/supreme_court/ 

Supreme Court Covid-19 Announcement Page

MESSAGE FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA on COVID-19

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• May 7, 2020 - COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 17 - NOTICE TO MEDIA REGARDING ACCESS TO COURT PROCEEDINGS. The Supreme Court of British Columbia recognizes the critical importance of the open court principle, including in the exceptional circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Supreme Court has taken steps to ensure that the media continue to have options for observing and reporting on court proceedings during this unprecedented time. For more information please click here.
• May 6, 2020 - BOOKING APPLICATIONS BY WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS. As provided in COVID-19 Notice No. 14 – Application by Written Submissions, booking for applications by written submissions can only be done online.  The online booking form is now available here.
• May 4, 2020 - COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 16 - SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - COVID PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCES (CV PTC). Effective Monday, May 4, 2020, and during the remainder of the suspension of the Court’s normal operations, pre-trial conferences will be held by telephone for criminal cases where the trial was unable to proceed because of the suspension, or is at risk of being adjourned because of indirect effects of the suspension.  These “CV PTCs” have the specific purpose of advancing or resolving adjourned and at-risk cases as much as possible and appropriate.  To view the Notice, click here. To view the CV PTC Counsel form, click here.
• May 4, 2020 - SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - SUSPENSION OF ALL REGULAR COURT OPERATIONS - INSOLVENCY MATTERS. The Supreme Court of British Columbia has modified its Request for Urgent Hearing – Insolvency process to remove the requirement to submit draft materials. For the revised Notice, click here.
• April 27, 2020 - COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 14 - SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - EXPANSION OF CIVIL AND FAMILY MATTERS - APPLICATIONS BY WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS. To facilitate the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of proceedings during the suspension of the Court’s regular operations, pursuant to Ministerial Order No. M121 the Chief Justice has expanded the scope of applications that can proceed by way of written submissions. To see the order of the Chief Justice, click here. For more details about bringing an application by written submissions, click here. Booking for applications by written submissions will only be available online. The Court will announce when online booking is available, expected by May 8, 2020.
• April 24, 2020 - COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 13 - SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - EXPANSION OF CIVIL AND FAMILY MATTERS – TELEPHONE CONFERENCE HEARINGS (REVISED). Effective April 20, 2020, in an effort to expand the civil and family matters that can be dealt with at this time, the Court has established procedures to allow parties to schedule a COVID-19 Telephone Conference Hearing (TCH) for matters that are not urgent or essential (as specified in the Court’s April 16, 2020 Notice and that were scheduled for hearing during the Suspension Period. At each TCH, parties will be limited to addressing one disputed issue or to bringing forward issues on which they have consent. This updated Notice (revised April 24, 2020) includes information about scheduling a TCH when a judge or master is seized of or assigned to a matter, and clarifies that an affidavit filed for a TCH must not exceed 10 pages, inclusive of exhibits. For more details click here.
  
• April 24, 2020 - COVID-19 NOTICE NO. 12 - E-FILING AND DESK ORDER APPLICATIONS (FAMILY AND CIVIL). The Supreme Court of British Columbia encourages the use of e-filing for certain family and civil desk order applications. For more information click here. ‍
• April 21, 2020 - SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - COVID-19: E-FILING AND BANKRUPTCY DESK ORDER APPLICATIONS. On April 21, 2020, the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued a Notice to the Profession, Public and Media encouraging the use of e-filing for bankruptcy desk order applications. For more information click here.
• April 21, 2020 - SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - COVID-19: E-FILING AND FAMILY AND CIVIL DESK ORDER APPLICATIONS. On April 21, 2020, the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued a Notice to the Profession, Public and Media encouraging the use of e-filing for certain family and civil desk order applications. For more information click here.
• ‍April 21, 2020 - USE OF BASIC BCeID FOR E-FILING. As of April 20, 2020 and for the duration of the suspension of regular operations at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, parties may e-file documents using Basic BCeID. For more information click here.
• April 21, 2020 - CERTIFICATES OF PENDING LITIGATION, CERTIFICATES OF JUDGMENT, AND CERTIFICATES OF COMMENCEMENT OF COMMENCEMENT OF PROCEEDINGS. As of April 17, 2020 and for the duration of the suspension of regular operations at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Certificates of Pending Litigation, Certificates of Judgment, and Certificates of Commencement of Proceedings may be transmitted electronically. For more information click here.
• April 17, 2020 - SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - EXPANSION OF CIVIL AND FAMILY MATTERS - TELEPHONE CONFERENCE HEARINGS. Effective April 20, 2020, in an effort to expand the civil and family matters that can be dealt with at this time, the Court has established procedures to allow parties to schedule a COVID-19 Telephone Conference Hearing (TCH) for matters that are not urgent or essential (as specified in the Court’s April 16, 2020 Notice) and that were scheduled for hearing during the Suspension Period. At each TCH, parties will be limited to addressing one disputed issue or to bringing forward issues on which they have consent. For more details click here.
• ‍AMENDMENT TO THREE COURTS' POLICY ON USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN COURTROOMS - April 17, 2020
• COVID-19 - Notice to the Profession, the Public and the Media Regarding Criminal Proceedings - 16 April 2020
• SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - SUSPENSION OF ALL REGULAR COURT OPERATIONS - CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS (Revised April 16, 2020)
• SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - SUSPENSION OF ALL REGULAR COURT OPERATIONS - CIVIL AND FAMILY MATTERS (Revised April 16, 2020)
• MESSAGE FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - April 6, 2020 
• SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NOTICE - SUSPENSION OF ALL REGULAR COURT OPERATIONS - INSOLVENCY MATTERS - April 2, 2020‍
• NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING AFFIDAVITS FOR USE IN COURT PROCEEDINGS - 27 March 2020