British Columbia Court of Appeal

The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) is the highest appellate court in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 following the 1907 Court of Appeal Act.

The BCCA hears appeals from the Supreme Court of British Columbia and a number of boards and tribunals. The BCCA also hears criminal appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia where the proceedings in that court were by indictment. It will hear summary conviction appeals from the Supreme Court on criminal matters that originated in the Provincial Court. Statute restricts appeals on civil matters from the Provincial Court (Small Claims) to the Supreme Court. However, some Provincial Court civil matters may come before the BCCA on very narrow matters having to do with questions of administrative law or other unusual circumstances.

The BCCA consists of 15 justices (including a chief justice) in addition to 9 supernumerary justices.^[1] All justices of the BCCA (including the position of Chief Justice) are appointed by the federal government. The central registry for the BCCA is in Vancouver, where the BCCA holds most of its sittings. The BCCA also occasionally hears cases in Victoria, Kelowna, and Kamloops. The judges for the court also double as judges for the Yukon Court of Appeal. Cases from Yukon are heard in both Vancouver and in Whitehorse.

A full division of the court consists of five justices; however, most cases are heard by a division of three justices. A single justice will preside over matters heard in "chambers", usually interlocutory matters or applications for leave to appeal. On occasion, and with especially challenging or controversial matters, five judges will be appointed to hear the appeal.

Unlike in Ontario where a sitting of the Court of Appeal is referred to as a "panel", in the BCCA a sitting of the court is referred to as a "division".

Counsel appearing in the BCCA are required to "gown". This court dress is identical to that worn in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and consists of a white wing collar with tabs, along with a black bar jacket and black gown (some counsel will wear a black waistcoat and suit rather than a bar jacket). Male barristers will generally wear black or striped trousers, with female barristers wearing either trousers or a skirt. King's Counsel wear a more elaborate bar jacket as well as a silk gown. Court dress is not required for matters heard in Chambers, wherein standard business dress can be worn by both counsel and the sitting justice.

All courts in the province of British Columbia display the Arms of His Majesty in Right of the United Kingdom, as a symbol of its judiciary.^[2]

The court moved from its previous location (what is now the Vancouver Art Gallery) to the present Arthur Erickson designed Vancouver Law Courts in 1980. One of the courtrooms from the old courthouse was reconstructed in the new building; when in session, a division of the court will often preside in this Heritage Courtroom (Courtroom 50).

Supernumerary

Since 1929, the Chief Justice of the BCCA has had the rank of Chief Justice of British Columbia.

• 2023–present Leonard Marchand
• 2013–2023 Robert J. Bauman
• 2001–2013 Lance Finch
• 1988–2001 Allan McEachern
• 1979–1988 Nathaniel Nemetz
• 1973–1978 John Lauchlan Farris
• 1967–1972 Herbert William Davey
• 1964–1967 Henry Irvine Bird
• 1963–1964 Sherwood Lett
• 1958–1963 Alexander Campbell DesBrisay
• 1944–1957 Gordon McGregor Sloan
• 1942–1944 David Alexander McDonald
• 1940–1941 Malcolm Archibald Macdonald
• 1937–1940 Archer Martin
• 1909–1937 James Alexander MacDonald (Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal)
• 1902–1929 Gordon Hunter (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court)

• Moore, Christopher (2010). The British Columbia Court of Appeal : the first hundred years, 1910-2010. Vancouver: UBC Press for the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History. ISBN 978-0-7748-1864-3.

• BCCA website