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NEWS RELEASE
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July 7, 2009 |
Ministry of Attorney General |
NEW
CIVIL RULES PROMOTE ACCESS TO JUSTICE
VICTORIA –
New civil and family justice reforms introduced today will lower costs and
increase access to B.C.’s justice system for the average citizen by making it
easier to use the courts and resolve legal disputes, Attorney General Michael
de Jong, QC, has announced.
“Justice needs to be affordable if it’s going to work for British
Columbians. Modernizing the rules is a critical step in serving those who rely
on the justice system for expedient and fair justice,” said de Jong. “The new
civil and family rules have been adopted by the Province and will be fully
implemented July 1, 2010.”
Under the new civil and family rules, the Province will provide up to
three days of trial time before litigants are required to pay court fees.
Current fees start at $156 for a half day or less. To encourage the use of
mediation, court fees for filing or responding to a legal claim will be
eliminated for parties that engage in mediation prior to commencing a civil
action.
“Government’s endorsement of the new civil and family rules and fees is
a significant step forward in making the justice system more accessible and
affordable,” said Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Brenner. “We drew on
the extensive knowledge and professional expertise of many seasoned members of
the judiciary, private bar and policy analysts to develop new
rules. Making these changes is absolutely the right thing to do for the
people who rely on the justice system to resolve disputes.”
“The seeds for today’s reforms were planted seven years ago when the
B.C. Justice Review Task Force began its work,” said former Attorney General
Geoff Plant, QC. “Lengthy public consultations within the justice system and
with the public have produced new civil and family rules which will improve
access to justice for British Columbians.”
Additional reforms include changes to rules used by B.C.’s civil courts
to speed up, simplify and lower the cost of resolving disputes. These include:
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Containing
legal processes so that they are proportionate to the value, importance and
complexity of the case.
·
Limiting
the sometimes excessive questioning of parties, called oral examinations for
discovery.
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Limiting
the costly exchange of documents that are not directly relevant to a case.
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Allowing
parties the option of having a judge set time limits on litigation events.
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Providing
a new fast track process that greatly simplifies procedures when the amount in
dispute is $100,000 or less or when the case can be tried in three days or
less.
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Providing
new family rules for minimizing family conflict, promoting co-operation and
ensuring that the interests of children are paramount.
“We heard from all sides of this issue, and like other jurisdictions
that are wrestling with similar problems, we are taking action,” said Wally
Oppal, QC, former Attorney General. “The new civil and family rules put the
public’s interests first by responding to their concerns about the cost and
timeliness of civil justice.”
In 2004, the B.C. Justice Review Task Force created civil and family
justice reform working groups to research and make recommendations for
procedural reforms. The working groups included members of the private bar,
judiciary, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the deputy attorney general,
policy analysts and others. Broad consultations were carried out on the
proposed rules.
“It is clear that the status quo is not an option – reform and change
are necessary,”
said
William Everett, QC, chair of the B.C. Justice Review Task Force. “What has
been produced was achieved through a very broad, inclusive review and
consultation process and I believe the new rules pave the way to a better civil
justice system in B.C."
British
Columbia is reforming the civil and family justice system as part of its
justice reform initiative. The new rules can be viewed at: http://www.bcjusticereviewforum.ca/
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Contact: Shawn Robins
Ministry of
Attorney General
250 387-4965
250 812-3259
(cell)
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For more information on government
services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the
Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.
BACKGROUNDER
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July 7,
2007 |
Ministry of Attorney General |
INCREASING ACCESS TO
JUSTICE
We are
privileged to live in a country firmly backed by the rule of law through an
independent, highly skilled judiciary and a top-notch bar. We cannot, however,
ignore the fact that resolving a dispute has become unaffordable for most
British Columbians. Many family and civil disputes are abandoned or compromised
because the litigants cannot afford to pursue them in court. The spiralling
cost is caused by slow, complex and unnecessary court processes that are
required or allowed by the current court rules.
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The new court rules address these
issues through the following measures:
Simplified initiation
process
A simplified case initiation and response process, eliminating the
filing of multiple documents.
Proportionality
The object of the rules is to secure a just, speedy and inexpensive
resolution on the merits of the case. That includes conducting the proceedings
in ways that are proportionate to the financial amount involved in the
proceeding, the importance of the issues in dispute and the proceeding’s
complexity.
Discovery
Unless the parties agree or the court otherwise orders, the new rules
allow a maximum of seven hours of questioning in oral discovery. Under the
current rules, a litigant can be questioned for days. Further, the current
rules require the exchange of documents that in any way relate to the action,
even if they are not relevant to the case. The new rules require parties to
exchange only those documents that could be used to prove or disprove a
material fact at trial.
Case planning
If a case is progressing as it should, no planning or conferences are
required. But if a party finds that a case is moving too slowly or is filled
with unnecessary legal processes, the party may obtain the assistance of a
judge or master to set out a clear plan for what is going to happen in a case
and when it will happen, including the trial date. This will be especially
important for financially weaker parties.
Experts
The rules provide many improvements on the use
of expensive experts. They provide that an expert’s duty is to assist the court
and not to advocate for any party. Reports will be exchanged earlier and will
contain more specific information. In appropriate circumstances, a judge may
order that opposing experts confer prior to trial to help focus the technical
issues in dispute. In suitable cases, a process is set out to use a single
joint expert, instead of duelling experts.
New fast track rule
The new fast track rule provides a single
simplified and fast procedure when the amount in controversy is $100,000 or
less or when the trial of the action can be completed in three days or less.
Cost of trials
Under the new civil and family rules, the Province will provide up to
three days of trial time before litigants are required to pay court fees.
Current fees start with $156 for a half day or less. In addition, to encourage the use of mediation, the fees
for filing or responding to a claim will be eliminated for parties who mediate
prior to commencing a civil action.
Reorganized structure
A reorganized structure will allow for a more logical and chronological
flow of the court rules, along with new, simplified terminology to update the
rules to modern standards.
·
Highlights of the new family rules
include:
A single set of rules for family cases
There will be a separate set of Supreme Court rules that apply to most
family cases. Previously, family rules were a complex combination of general
civil rules and specific family rules.
User friendly forms
The forms have been completely revised to make them more user-friendly,
easier to understand and to fill out.
Terminology and
clarity
The new family rules use plainer, more readable language.
Family specific
objectives and proportionality
The
objective of the Supreme Court Family Rules reflects the values of the Family
Justice Reform Working Group (FJRWG) report and provide that the objective of
the family rules is to help families resolve the legal issues that arise from
family break-up fairly and in a way that will minimize conflict, promote
co-operation between the parties and take into account the impact that the
conduct of the case may have on a child.
In the family law context, proportionality is defined as conducting the
case in ways that are proportionate to the court’s assessment of the needs and
interests of any child affected, the family's financial resources, the
complexity of the case and
the importance of the issues in dispute to the law applicable to
Judicial Case
Conference
The existing judicial case conference (JCC) remains a key feature of the
rules, with additional powers being given to the court to refer parties to a
family justice counsellor child support clerk or parenting after separation
program.
Discovery in family
cases
The family rules have new limits on document production and oral exams
for discovery, similar to the civil rules.
Experts in family
cases.
The key change with respect to experts is that if a party wishes to
present expert evidence on a “financial issue” in a family law case, the
parties must appoint a single joint expert.
Costs
The rules on the recovery of costs have been simplified.
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Consultation
In addition to more than 50
consultation meetings conducted around the province by B.C. Deputy Attorney
General Allan Seckel, QC, and B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Brenner,
focus groups on the proposed rules were held with lawyers from various areas of
practice in five cities and an online forum was created to allow members of the
bar and the public to provide feedback.
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Other jurisdictions
B.C.’s proposed rules are consistent
with civil justice reforms around the world. The
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Contact: |
Shawn
Robins Ministry
of Attorney General 250
387-4965 250
812-3259 (cell) |
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BACKGROUNDER
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July 7, 2007 |
Ministry of Attorney General |
VANCOUVER JUSTICE ACCESS CENTRE
The goal
of the justice access centres is to provide a single location where people can
benefit from a range of legal information, advice, mediation, and other
services and guidance that will help them resolve their justice problems. The
focus is on solving problems early through out-of-court settlements. But, if
clients do wind up in court, they will be better prepared.
Staff in
the centre work with clients to look beyond the dispute at hand to consider how
their problem can be solved. Rather than just looking to the court for an
answer, there will be a focus on looking at problems more broadly and being
open to a wider range of possible solutions.
The first
justice access centre opened in Nanaimo in late October 2008, to test a more
integrated approach to helping clients reach early and affordable solutions to
their legal problems. The centre helps clients address justice problems they
are experiencing with separation and divorce, debt, income assistance, consumer
issues, housing and other civil or family law matters. The Nanaimo Justice
Access Centre is a partnership between the Ministry of Attorney General and
Legal Services Society.
A second justice access centre is
being developed for Vancouver. The centre is currently focusing on family
justice matters and services, which include: information and self help; family
client needs assessment and referrals to other agencies; family dispute
resolution, including mediation and limited legal advice. Services are either
delivered on site by centre staff, service providers located at the centre or
through referrals to service providers in the community. This justice access
centre is being led by the Ministry of Attorney General. Work is underway to determine
how to expand the services to include supports for civil justice matters.
The Vancouver Justice Access
Centre is located at Vancouver Law Courts, Robson Square, 290 - 800 Hornby St.
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Contact: |
Shawn Robins Ministry
of Attorney General 250
387-4965 250 812-3259 (cell) |
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