Justice Reform Initiatives ~ Early Solutions, Faster Justice

Civil Justice Reform

Civil Justice Reform Working Group Recommendations

The Civil Justice Reform Working Group released its report, Effective and Affordable Civil Justice, [PDF] in November 2006. The report recommends fundamental changes to the way cases filed in the BC Supreme Court are dealt with.

Key recommendations include:

• the introduction of justice services centres, places where people can go to get the information and services they require to solve legal problems on their own;
  
  
• parties to Supreme Court actions attend a case planning conference before they engage the system beyond initiating and responding to a claim; and
  
  
• a complete rewriting of the Supreme Court Rules, including:
  
  
  • the creation of an overriding objective that all proceedings are dealt with justly and pursuant to the principles of proportionality;
    
• a new case initiation process;
• limit discovery, while requiring early disclosure of key information;
• limit the parameters of expert evidence;
• streamline motion practice; and
• provide the judiciary with power to make orders to streamline the trial process.

The Ministry of Attorney General is working with the bar and judiciary on new Supreme Court Rules based on these recommendations. Streamlined rules will enable judges to work more actively with lawyers and parties to streamline and resolve legal cases as quickly as possible. The Concept Draft: Proposed New Rules of Civil Procedure is available for feedback in an online forum. The deadline for submissions is October 31, 2007.