On July 7, 2009, the provincial government announced the new Supreme Court Rules of Family Procedure. The rules will come into effect on July 1, 2010. To view the new rules and additional background information, please visit www.bcjusticereviewforum.ca. A table of concordance is also available.



The new Supreme Court Family Rules reflect a central theme of the Family Justice Reform Working Group’s (FJRWG) 2005 report: the resolution of the legal issues that arise from family break-up in a fair way that minimizes conflict, promotes cooperation between the parties and takes into account the impact that the conduct of the case may have on a child.

The new rules will be easier to use and understand. For the first time, B.C. will have stand-alone Supreme Court Family Rules. Previously, family rules were a complex combination of general civil rules and a series of specific family rules. The new stand-alone family rules are organized in logical and chronological order, and key forms have been redesigned to be easy to fill out.

The new rules are a result of extensive in-person and web-based consultation, as well as countless hours of work by the Family Rules Drafting Group and the Supreme Court Rules Revision Committee.



The Family Justice Reform Working Group was initiated by the Justice Review Task Force, an ongoing collaboration between government, the judiciary and lawyers, working together to help make the justice system more responsive, accessible and cost-effective.

The Working Group has been given a mandate by the Task Force to explore options for fundamental change in the family law system that will better serve the parents and children who access it.

The Working Group has developed recommendations for changes to the family court system in BC. It also examined the concept of unified family court and made recommendations on the delivery of family justice services outside of the court system, such as non-adversarial and settlement oriented processes.

Click here to access the Working Group's report, A New Justice System for Families and Children. [May 2005]

Click here to access the appendices to the report. [April 2005]

Click here to learn about the work the Ministry of Attorney General has been doing with respect to the report's recommendations. [September 2006]

The Honourable Madam Justice Alison Beames, Supreme Court of BC
The Honourable Associate Chief Judge John Threlfall, Provincial Court of BC
M Jerry McHale, QC, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of the Attorney General
Richard Bjarnason, Barrister and Solicitor
Nancy Cameron, Barrister and Solicitor
Jill Dempster, Senior Policy & Legislative Analyst, Ministry of the Attorney General
Dinyar Marzban, Barrister & Solicitor
Heidi Mason, Barrister & Solicitor, Mgr, Field Operations Dept, Legal Services Society
Carole McKnight, Mediator, Educator and Consultant
Mary Mouat, Barrister & Solicitor
Irene Robertson, Senior Policy Analyst, Ministry of the Attorney General

July 22, 2003
Family Justice Reform Working Group

June 9, 2005
Working Group Releases Report on Family Justice System

July 22, 2003
Justice Review Task Force Appoints New Working Group to Improve
BC’s Family Justice System



July 22, 2003
Family Justice Reform Working Group



Commissioned by the Family Justice Reform Working Group

July 15, 2004
Mandatory Dispute Resolution in Child Protection: A Survey of Jurisdictions

July 11, 2004
Dispute Resolution Programs, Mandatory Dispute Resolution and Pre-Action Protocols in Separation and Divorce

July 7, 2004
Arbitration of Family Law Disputes in British Columbia

July 2004
Cross-Jurisdictional Survey of Early Case Assessment in Family Disputes

June 22, 2004
The Applicability of Pre-Action Protocols to BC Family Law Disputes



September 2006
A New Justice System for Families and Children
Family Justice Reform Working Group Report: An Update on Recommendations

May 2005
A New Justice System for Families and Children
Report of the Family Justice Reform Working Group to the Justice Review Task Force
Report - Appendices

September 2003
Summary of Reports for the Family Justice Reform Working Group



July 22, 2003
Family Justice Reform Working Group