How Do I Address the Judge?

How you address the judge depends on which court you are in. Each court has a particular honorific that should be used when addressing the judge, and the judge is properly addressed by that honorific when in court, not as "sir," "ma'am," or something else.

Judges of the BC Court of Appeal and BC Supreme Court are officially called Justices. Please note, they are no longer addressed as “My Lord,” “My Lady,” “Your Lordship,” or “Your Ladyship”. Since November of 2021 the ways to address judges are:

• For Justices of the Court of Appeal use “Chief Justice” (for the Chief Justice only), “Justice”, “Madam Justice”, “Mr. Justice”, or, if addressing more than one, as “Justices”, according to the context. It is no longer acceptable to address them as “My Lady”, “My Lord”, “Your Ladyship” or “Your lordship”. In a Registrar’s hearing at the Court of Appeal, the Registrar is to be addressed as “Your Honour”.
• Associate judge and registrars of the Supreme Court are addressed as “Your Honour.” Note that effective January 15, 2024, the Supreme Court Act was amended to replace the title of master with the title of associate judge. All references to a master of the BC Supreme Court should be read as a reference to an associate judge. Provincial Court judges are also called “Your Honour.”
• For Justices of the BC Supreme Court use “Chief Justice” (for the Chief Justice of the BC Supreme Court only), “Justice”, “Madam Justice”, or “Mr. Justice”. Here too, the terms “My Lady”, “My Lord”, “Your Ladyship” or “Your lordship” are no longer acceptable. The most appropriate form of address for an associate judge of the BC Supreme Court is “Your Honour”. A District Registrar or the Registrar of the BC Supreme Court is called "Your Honour."
• For BC Provincial Court judges, the proper form of address for a judge is “Your Honour”. For Judicial Justices, Judicial Case managers", justice of the Peace Adjudicators, or Court Services Justices of the Peace, the proper term is still “Your Worship.”

Courthouse Libraries BC maintains a helpful resource which includes references as well as ways to address a judge outside the courtroom. See Forms of address, on their website. You can find information about what to expect in court in How Do I Conduct Myself in Court at an Application?. You can find information about court processes in the chapter Resolving Your Legal Problem in Court.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Nate Russell, May 12, 2023.

JP Boyd on Family Law © John-Paul Boyd and Courthouse Libraries BC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.

Normally referred to as the "Supreme Court of British Columbia," this court hears most of the trials in this province. The Supreme Court is a court of inherent jurisdiction and has no limits on the sorts of claims it can hear or on the sorts of orders it can make. Decisions of the Provincial Court are appealed to the Supreme Court; decisions of the Supreme Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. See "Court of Appeal," "jurisdiction," "Provincial Court" and "Supreme Court of Canada."

A court established and staffed by the provincial government, which includes Small Claims Court, Youth Court, and Family Court. The Provincial Court is the lowest level of court in British Columbia and is restricted in the sorts of matters it can deal with. It is, however, the most accessible of the two trial courts and no fees are charged to begin or defend a family law proceeding. The Family Court of the Provincial Court cannot deal with the division of family property or any claims under the Divorce Act. See "Divorce Act," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

A person appointed by the federal or provincial government to manage and decide court proceedings in an impartial manner, independent of influence by the parties, the government, or agents of the government. The decisions of a judge are binding upon the parties to the proceeding, subject to appeal.

The highest level of court in the province, having the jurisdiction to review decisions of the Supreme Court, all provincial lower courts, and certain tribunals. See "appeal."

In law, any proceeding before a judicial official to determine questions of law and questions of fact, including the hearing of an application and the hearing of a trial. See "decision."

In law, a document demonstrating ownership of a thing. See "ownership."

Since January 2024, these provincially-appointed judicial officials of the BC Supreme Court are now called associate judges. They serve a similar role as justices of the BC Supreme Court, but have limited jurisdiction. Associate judges are usually charged with making interim decisions before final judgment in a court proceeding, and certain decisions after final judgment, including the assessment of lawyers' bills and the settling of bills of cost. See "interim application," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

A provincially-appointed judicial official of the BC Supreme Court with limited jurisdiction, usually charged with making interim decisions before final judgment in a court proceeding, and certain decisions after final judgment, including the assessment of lawyers' bills and the settling of bills of cost. Until January 2024, associate judges were referred to as masters. See "interim application," "judge" and "jurisdiction."