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→What's the court process going to be like?
If you need the court to make an order about something, even about something you might agree to, like a divorce, you must start a ''court proceeding''. Court proceedings are also called cases, lawsuits, and actions. There are two types of court proceedings, ''criminal matters'' and ''civil matters''. Criminal matters concern the government's claim that someone has broken a criminal law, like the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vf2 Criminal Code]'' or the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vtc Controlled Drugs and Substances Act]''. Civil matters concern claims between people, companies and governments. Family law cases are civil matters.
===A few definitions===
===The court process in a nutshell===
Court proceedings in the Provincial Court and the Supreme Court, other than proceedings in criminal mattersand proceedings at the Victoria registry of the Provincial Court, work more or less like this.
<blockquote>'''The claimant starts the proceeding.''' The person who wants a court order, the ''claimant'', starts a court proceeding by filing a ''claim'' in court and serving the filed claim on the respondent. The claims says what orders the claimant wants the court to make. Serving the filed claim involves having the claim hand-delivered to the ''respondent'' by someone other than the claimant.</blockquote>
It's important to remember that you and the other party can agree to resolve your dispute out of court at any time in this process. If you haven't done so already, please read the chapter [[Resolving Family Law Problems out of Court]].
===Provincial Court Early Resolution and Case Management Pilot Project===
The Early Resolution and Case Management Model is a new process being piloted in the Victoria registry of the Provincial Court. New family law cases
in the Provincial Court Rules. It is designed to encourage parties to resolve family disputes by agreement or to help them obtain just and timely decisions in Provincial Court.
What is the Victoria Early Resolution and Case Management process?
The new process applies to issues under the Family Law Act and introduces early resolution requirements for family law matters proceeding through Provincial Court in the Victoria registry. Family law matters are defined as: child support, spousal support, parenting arrangements (parenting time and parenting responsibilities), contact and guardianship.
In addition to the early resolution requirements, the new process introduces a family management conference which will replace first appearance and provide increased case management. This will help with further dispute resolution and help ensure parties are prepared if they need to proceed to trial.
There are a number of other changes including new, more user friendly forms and improved processes for things like orders by consent and case management orders.
The process has been designed to build knowledge and support active resolution of issues where possible as well as helping the parties prepare for next steps.
==Resources and links==