COMMUNICATING WITH THE COURT

Except where a Justice otherwise directs, for parties and/or Counsel with matters before the Court, the appropriate means of communicating with the Court is:

 a) on the Court record (i.e. verbally in Court proceedings, or in writing through materials filed with the Court as provided by the Alberta Rules of Court (Rules); and

b) on notice (i.e. with a copy) to Counsel for/or the opposing party/parties.

The Court does not receive evidence or argument via unsolicited correspondence, or communications from parties, or others, in regard to any King's Bench proceeding or hearing outside of those communications that are required under the Rules, the Court’s Practice Notes or other written directives, or as specifically directed by a Justice.

The Court reserves the right not to respond to inappropriate communications made in person, by telephone, email, social media or in other written or digital form. Inappropriate communications include those that:

  • contain evidence that ought to be put to the Court under oath orally in a Court proceeding or a sworn affidavit;
  • contain argument in a proceeding, that ought to be put to the Court in oral argument or in the form of a written, filed brief of argument;
  • seek legal advice;
  • seek comment from the Court in respect of the merits of any decision made by an individual Justice or Applications Judge;
  • complain about the conduct of Counsel for/or the party/parties opposite;
  • are not on notice, or copied, to Counsel for/or the party/parties opposite; and/or
  • contain rude or abusive language.

In addition, the Court will not respond to:

  • Questions about Government of Alberta programs and services, assistance with preparing forms etc. that should be directed to Court and Justice Services.
  • Questions about filing or accessing court files or documents that should be directed to the Clerk's Office.
  • Questions in relation to matters before the Provincial Court of Alberta or the Court of Appeal of Alberta that should be directed to those Courts.
  • Complaints about the conduct of lawyers that should be directed to the Law Society of Alberta.
  • Complaints about staff employed by the Government of Alberta who are not employed by the Court of King's Bench Judicial Branch.

Please see the Contact Page for further details.

Judicial Conduct and Complaints

Justices

Justices of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta are appointed by the Governor General in Council of Canada under the Federal Judges Act. The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) deals with complaints about the conduct of federally appointed judges. If you have a complaint about the conduct of a Justice of the Court of King's Bench, you can follow this link to the CJC for more information.

Please note that the CJC is not a court and does not have the jurisdiction to review or change a decision made by a Justice of the Court of King's Bench. Decisions made by Justices of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta may (subject to certain exceptions) be appealed to the Court of Appeal of Alberta. For more information about appeals from the Court of King's Bench, see Part 14 of the Alberta Rules of Court, and follow this link.

Applications Judges 

Applications Judges are appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council of the Province of Alberta under the Court of Queen’s Bench Act. Complaints about the conduct of Applications Judges are handled by the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench and/or the Alberta Judicial Council, per Part 6 of the Judicature Act. If you have a complaint about the conduct of an Applications Judge at the Court of King's Bench of Alberta, you may mail your complaint to:

The Office of the Chief Justice
Court of King's Bench
1A Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB
T5J 0R2

Please note that neither the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, nor the Alberta Judicial Council have jurisdiction to review or change a decision made by an Applications Judge in response to a complaint brought under Part 6 of the Judicature Act. Decisions made by Applications Judges are subject to appeal under s.12 of the Court of Queen’s Bench Act and Rule 6.14(1) of the Alberta Rules of Court.