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Conferences and Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings (view source)
Revision as of 19:54, 25 March 2025
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==Conferences in the BC Supreme Court== | ==Conferences in the BC Supreme Court== | ||
The four types of case conference held in the BC Supreme Court are ''judicial case conferences'', ''case planning conferences, ''settlement conferences'', and ''trial management conferences''. | The four types of case conference held in the BC Supreme Court are ''judicial case conferences'', ''case planning conferences'', ''settlement conferences'', and ''trial management conferences''. | ||
* '''Judicial Case Conferences''': JCCs are held early in a court proceeding (usually before any other applications can be made to the court), and are focused | * '''Judicial Case Conferences''': Judicial case conferences, commonly referred to as "JCCs," are held early in a court proceeding (usually before any other applications can be made to the court), and are focused settlement of any legal issues that can be agreed to early on, getting short-term arrangements for the support and parenting of children set up by consent if possible, and planning the next few steps in the proceeding (set out in a ''case management plan''. They are very important, and mandatory in the majority of cases. | ||
* '''Case Planning Conferences''': CPCs were introduced in September 2023, and can be requested by a party or held at the direction of a judge. CPCs are | * '''Case Planning Conferences''': CPCs were introduced in September 2023, and can be requested by a party or held at the direction of a judge. CPCs are intended to make complex litigation more efficient — however they are a fairly new development, and not necessarily all that common. If one is scheduled, each party is required to file a ''case plan proposal'' which summarizes how they want to handle a range of issues such as discovery of documents, conducting examinations for discovery, any plans for obtaining views of a child, dispute resolution procedures, expert witnesses, witness lists, and trial type (e.g. a summary trial, or a regular trial). | ||
* '''Settlement Conferences''': These conferences are held when both parties request them, or at the direction of a judge. Settlement conferences are aimed at trying to settle the legal issues in the court proceeding so that trial can be avoided. | * '''Settlement Conferences''': These conferences are held when both parties request them, or at the direction of a judge. Settlement conferences are aimed at trying to settle the legal issues in the court proceeding so that trial can be avoided. | ||
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===Judicial case conferences=== | ===Judicial case conferences=== | ||
Judicial case conferences, | Judicial case conferences, are relatively informal, off-the-record, private meetings between the parties, their lawyers, and a judge or associate judge in a courtroom, held under Rule 7-1 of the [https://canlii.ca/t/8mcr#sec7_1 Supreme Court Family Rules]. JCCs must be held in all ''contested'' family law court proceedings — cases where a Response to Family Claim has been filed — and, in most cases, they must be held before any interim applications can be heard. In fact, Rule 7-1(2) says that "a party to the family law case must not serve on another party a notice of application or an affidavit in support" in support of an application until a JCC has been heard. | ||
Under Rule 7-1(10) and (11), the parties must exchange Financial Statements in Form F8 before the JCC. (The Form F8 Financial Statements must also be filed in court, in <span class="noglossary">advance</span> of the JCC, to give the judge the chance to read through them first.) More information about Form F8 Financial Statements is provided in this chapter in the [[Disclosure and Discovery in Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings|Disclosure and Discovery]] section. | Under Rule 7-1(10) and (11), the parties must exchange Financial Statements in Form F8 before the JCC. (The Form F8 Financial Statements must also be filed in court, in <span class="noglossary">advance</span> of the JCC, to give the judge the chance to read through them first.) More information about Form F8 Financial Statements is provided in this chapter in the [[Disclosure and Discovery in Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings|Disclosure and Discovery]] section. | ||
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A judge or associate judge will discuss how a trial will proceed and what, if any, additional steps must be taken to make sure that the parties are ready for trial, such as exchanging documents and information, organizing experts' reports, or requiring that a views of the child report be prepared. | A judge or associate judge will discuss how a trial will proceed and what, if any, additional steps must be taken to make sure that the parties are ready for trial, such as exchanging documents and information, organizing experts' reports, or requiring that a views of the child report be prepared. | ||
The parties are normally required to attend the TMC in person, unless they have a lawyer and are available by telephone to speak with their lawyer in the event instructions are needed during the conference. | The parties are normally required to attend the TMC in person, unless they have a lawyer and are available by telephone to speak with their lawyer in the event instructions are needed during the conference. | ||
==Resources and links== | ==Resources and links== | ||