Provincial Court of British Columbia Surrey Board of Trade Committee Meeting September 5, 2012

Surrey Provincial Court – Courtroom 1, circa 1970

Canada’s Courts e.g., the Provincial Court of BC 5 Source:

British Columbia’s Court System 8 British Columbia Court of Appeal Rules on the “correctness” of judgments from the BC Supreme Court & the Provincial Court of BC 15 judges – X cases/year British Columbia Supreme Court Trial Court and can hear appeals from the Provincial Court of BC The most serious criminal cases (by judge or judge and jury) Civil cases over $25,000 (by judge or judge and jury) Family (divorce, separation, custody, support payments, family property) 106 judges – approx. 62,000 cases/year Provincial Court of British Columbia Trial court and statutory court created by the Provincial Court Act All criminal offences except a few in which the Supreme Court has jurisdiction (murder, treason, piracy, alarming Her Majesty), hears roughly 98% of criminal cases in the province Family (child protection, maintenance, custody, guardianship and access) Civil (monetary limit of $25,000) Approximately 127 judges – over 140,000 cases/year

Judges of the Provincial Court The appointment process Terms of appointment Judicial Accountability Reasons for Judgment Appellate Review Authority of the Chief Judge Discipline Process

Complaints – 2004 to March 31, 2011

Innovations in the Provincial Court of British Columbia Downtown Community Court Victoria Integrated Court First Nations Court Drug Treatment Court Domestic Violence Court Project

Questions?