One of the recommendations in the 2006 Report of the Civil Justice Reform Working Group (CJRWG) was to create new Supreme Court Rules geared to reducing the time, cost and complexity of Supreme Court litigation. In July 2007, representatives of the judiciary, Ministry of Attorney General, and private bar prepared a Concept Draft of the proposed new Rules. The draft went through extensive revisions based on the consultation process (described below). A further set of substantial revisions were proposed to the Attorney General by the Rules Revision Committee, a committee of judges, private sector lawyers and a Ministry of Attorney General legislative drafter.
On July 7, 2009, the provincial government announced the new Supreme Court Rules of Civil Procedure, as proposed by the Rules Revision Committee. The rules will come into force on July 1, 2010. To view the new rules and background information, please visit www.bcjusticereviewforum.ca.
A table of concordance is also available.
The consultations on the civil rules were unprecedented in their scope and extent. Former Chief Justice Donald Brenner and former Deputy Attorney General Allan Seckel, QC toured the province over a period of one year, speaking to Bar Associations, judges, law students, experts, service clubs, and others. They presented the recommendations of the Civil Justice Reform Working Group (CJRWG) at more than 50 venues and answered questions. They also conducted focus groups with lawyers in five communities. Additionally, the on-line forum was set up to receive comments on the concept draft. The site has been viewed more than 6,500 times. To review the feedback submitted on the site, and additional background documents, please see
www.bcjusticereviewforum.ca/civilrules.
Finally, as noted above, the proposed rules were reviewed in detail by the Rules Revision Committee, which proposed final revisions. The comments received resulted in numerous and substantial changes to the original recommendations expressed by the CJRWG.
The Ministry of Attorney General is working with the judiciary and the private bar to create the court forms and educational materials necessary for final implementation in 2010. The on-line forum (www.bcjusticereviewforum.ca/civilrules) will continue to be used as an information source for the profession.
Former Chief Justice Donald Brenner, Supreme Court of BC (Co-Chair)
Allan Seckel QC, former Deputy Attorney General (Co-Chair)
Madam Justice Laura Gerow, Supreme Court of BC
Judge Dennis Schmidt, Provincial Court of BC
Master William McCallum, Rules Revision Committee
Richard Margetts QC, Law Society of BC
Jim Vilvang QC, Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch
Helen Pedneault, former Assistant Deputy Minister, Court Services Branch
Master Barbara Young, Supreme Court of BC
George Macintosh QC, Member at Large
Carol McEown, former manager, Legal Services Society
Craig P Dennis, Member at Large
Click here to access the Working Group's report, entitled, Effective and
Affordable Civil Justice. [November 2006]
Click here to access the backgrounder to the report. [November 27, 2006]
The BC Justice Review Task Force was established in March, 2002 as a joint project of the Law Society, the Attorney General, the BC Supreme Court, the BC Provincial Court and the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.
The BC Justice Review Task Force was established on the initiative of the Law Society of BC in March, 2002 and is a joint project of the Law Society, the Attorney General, the BC Supreme Court, the BC Provincial Court and the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.
October 2004
Civil Justice Reform Working Group
June 9-10 2005
Restructuring Justice Conference
June 20, 2008
Consultation Period Extended for New Civil Rules - Backgrounder
November 27, 2006
Task Force Proposes Fundamental Civil Justice System Reform - Backgrounder
September 27, 2004 - Ministry of Attorney General
Task Force Tackles Civil Justice System Reforms
September 27, 2004 - Ministry of Attorney General
Task Force Tackles Civil Justice System Reforms
Civil Justice Reform Working Group
April 2008
Access to Justice: Remarks of the Honourable Warren Winkler, Chief Justice of Ontario
February 2006
Change in Legal Culture: Barriers and New Opportunities
January 18, 2006
Major Themes of Civil Justice Reform
September 29, 2005
Proportionality: A More Effective Tool
June 20, 2005
Is "Defensive Practice" by Lawyers an Obstacle for Access to the Courts?
February 23, 2005
Legal Culture
September 21, 2004
Green Paper: The Foundations of Civil Justice Reform
November 2007
Ontario Civil Justice Reform Project
August 1996
CBA, Systems of Civil Justice Task Force Report
October 7, 2004
Civil Justice Reform Working Group
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