B.C. Legal Links
B.C. Provincial Court
The Provincial Court is the first level of court in British Columbia. The Court’s jurisdiction includes criminal, family, child protection, small claims, and traffic cases.
The Court sits throughout the province and hundreds of people attend the Provincial Court every day. For these people, this Court represents the face of justice in British Columbia.
B.C. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the province’s superior trial court. It is a court of general and inherent jurisdiction. There are 102 Supreme Court judges who sit in eight judicial districts, travelling on circuit through the year. There are also 13 Supreme Court masters who deal with pre-trial matters. The Supreme Court hears both civil and criminal cases and also hears appeals from the Provincial Court.
BC Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal for British Columbia is the highest court in the province. It hears appeals from the Supreme Court of British Columbia, some boards and tribunals and some criminal matters from the Provincial Court.
There are 20 Court of Appeal judges; 15 are regular sitting judges and the remaining five judges sit at least half-time as supernumerary judges. The Chief Justice of British Columbia heads the Court.
The Court of Appeal sits regularly in Vancouver and from time to time in Victoria, Kamloops and Kelowna. However, Vancouver is the central registry for the Court of Appeal.
The Court sits as a panel of three judges most of the time. For some important cases, the Court will sit as a panel of five judges.
The judges of the British Columbia Court of Appeal are also judges of the Yukon Court of Appeal. The Yukon Court of Appeal sits once a year in Whitehorse. Yukon appeals are also heard in other B.C. court locations.
Provincial Courthouse Locations in British Columbia:
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100 Mile House Abbotsford Atlin Burns Lake Campbell River Castlegar Chase Chetwynd Chilliwack Clearwater Courtenay Cranbrook Creston Dawson Creek Duncan Fernie Fort Nelson Fort St. John Golden Grand Forks Hope Ingenika Invermere Kamloops Kelowna Kimberley Mackenzie Lillooet Lytton Masset Merritt |
Nakusp Nanaimo Nelson New Westminster North Vancouver Oliver Parksville Pemberton Penticton Port Alberni Port Coquitlam Port Hardy Powell River Prince George Prince Rupert Princeton Quesnel Revelstoke Richmond Rossland Salmon Arm Sechelt Smithers Surrey Terrace Valemount Vancouver Criminal Vancouver Youth Vancouver Traffic Vanderhoof Vernon Victoria Western Communities Williams Lake |
