Supreme Court of British Columbia Education Seminar
The Supreme Court of British Columbia’s Education Seminar covered wide-ranging areas of interests for the judges and masters of the court. The program explored difficult financial calculations in the context of family matters, including business valuations and corporate guideline income. Other sessions focused on the admissibility and treatment of surreptitious recordings, chambers practice, and various pre-trial matters. There was discussion with senior members of the bench on a variety of criminal matters, from complex trials to innovative approaches to sentencing. For the latter, presentations were also offered by a judge of the Provincial Court and a justice of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, and from the First Nations Justice Council and Aboriginal Legal Services. Finally, the seminar included a judicial wellness component providing judges with tools to aid in understanding and building resilience, especially when dealing with difficult family and criminal matters.
Number of Participants: n/a
Overview
This two-day seminar for the judges of the Supreme Court of British Columbia explored a variety of topics including criminal trial and sentencing procedures; evidentiary issues in criminal, civil and family law; selected topics on chambers practice management; approaches to complex calculations in family property division and child and spousal support calculations, specifically business valuations and corporate income; and judicial wellness and resilience in the context of difficult family and criminal matters.
Objectives
The objectives of this seminar were primarily to enhance participants’ practical skills in addressing challenging matters they face in and out of the courtroom, from managing chambers to dealing with the unseen impact of difficult cases. Further objectives were to update judges about recent developments in the law of evidence, provide practical approaches to complex financial calculations in family matters, and to provide insight from senior members of the bench on various criminal law matters.
Summary
The Supreme Court of British Columbia’s Education Seminar covered wide-ranging areas of interests for the judges and masters of the court. The program explored difficult financial calculations in the context of family matters, including business valuations and corporate guideline income. Other sessions focused on the admissibility and treatment of surreptitious recordings, chambers practice, and various pre-trial matters. There was discussion with senior members of the bench on a variety of criminal matters, from complex trials to innovative approaches to sentencing. For the latter, presentations were also offered by a judge of the Provincial Court and a justice of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, and from the First Nations Justice Council and Aboriginal Legal Services. Finally, the seminar included a judicial wellness component providing judges with tools to aid in understanding and building resilience, especially when dealing with difficult family and criminal matters.