Justice Reform Initiatives ~ Early Solutions, Faster Justice

Civil Justice Reform Projects

Small Claims Court Pilot Project

On Nov. 26, 2007, the Ministry of Attorney General and the Provincial Court of British Columbia launched a small claims court pilot project at Robson Square in Vancouver and in Richmond. The purpose of the project is to test new processes that will help users of the provincial court to find earlier solutions in their civil cases.

At Robson Square, all civil cases will follow these streams.

• 30-minute summary trials for all financial debt claims (for example, credit card debt, loans or overdrafts) will be held before a judge;

• one-hour simplified trials for all claims up to $5,000 (except financial debt and personal injury claims) will be held before a justice of the peace;

• a two-hour mediation session for claims for more than $5,000 and up to $25,000, and for all personal injury claims; and

• a 30-minute trial conference, followed by a trial, for claims not settled by mediation.

The simplified trial process for claims up to $5,000 will also be piloted in the Richmond registry.

For more information, refer to the Small Claims Rules and the summary of changes effective November 26, 2007 [12MB] [PDF] or contact either:

Robson Square
Small Claims Court Registry
Telephone: 604 660-8989
Fax: 604 660-7095

Richmond
Small Claims Court Registry
Telephone: 604 660-7675
Fax: 604 660-1797

Chinese (simplified), Punjabi and Vietnamese language fact sheets on the Pilot Project are available here.