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→The Provincial Court
In 2021, BC received a complete overhaul of its Provincial Court Family Rules. The purpose of the revamped Rules is aimed at promoting settlement, helping parties resolve their case by agreement, or to help them obtain a fair outcome in way that minimizes conflict and promotes cooperation between parties.
Section 8 of the Rules clearly states that “parties may come to an agreement or otherwise reach resolution about family issues at any time”. That means that even if it’s the morning of your trial and you’re all ready to go, you and your ex/co-parent can decide to settle without going to trial.
The new Rules have also divided various courthouses into different categories, or “registries”''registries''. For example, Victoria is an “Early ''Early Resolution Registry”Registry'', Vancouver (Robson Square) is a “Family ''Family Justice Registry”Registry'', and Abbotsford is a “Parenting ''Parenting Education Program Registry”Registry''. For more information of each of these types of Registryregistry, click here: see the section on [link to STARTING A COURT PROCEEDING/WHICH REGISTRY page[Starting a Court Proceeding in a Family Matter] ], under the heading Early Resolution Registries.
No matter the Registry registry in which you find yourself, there are certain steps you have to take before you’ll be able to argue before a judge. In most cases, the first time that parties will be before a judge will be at what’s called a “Family ''Family Management Conference” Conference'' (also called an “FMC”), which is a settlement-focused appearance. If settlement isn’t possible at the FMC, the judge can make orders (by consent or not), make interim orders to address needs until resolution is reached, and determine next appropriate steps.
A notable difference between Supreme Court and Provincial Court is that, in the latter, costs are not payablein Provincial Court. That said, a word of caution: if a judge decides that cross examining an expert witness was unnecessary, then the party who decides to cross examine that expert can be responsible for the costs associated with that, which can be in the thousands of dollars.
===The Supreme Court===