Hearing Guidelines

Over the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022, the Ad-Hoc Remote Hearings Committee of the Court of King’s Bench (the Committee) studied the mode of conducting hearings which had been adopted during the course of the pandemic. The Committee undertook both internal and external engagement. The Committee submitted a Report to the Executive Board of the Court which provided recommendations as to the processes for hearing matters before the Court on a go-forward Pilot Project basis. These processes are set out in these Hearing Guidelines.

General Principles

The following are the general principles which have informed the processes for hearing matters:

1. The default mode for matters that are more adjudicative/substantive in nature is an in-person hearing;
2. The default mode for matters that are more administrative/procedural in nature is a remote hearing;
3. The mode of hearing will be determined at the time a matter is scheduled for hearing and will be subject to the availability of Court resources on the scheduled hearing date;
4. The Court does not presently have sufficient resources to accommodate hybrid processes in all matters. As such, any change to the mode of hearing after a matter is scheduled must be approved by the Manager, Court Coordination via the electronic form: Hearing Mode Request Form. Changes to the mode of hearing after a matter is scheduled will be determined considering the circumstances and the following criteria:

• inability of a participant to attend in person due to health issues or other personal circumstances;
• distance to the location of the hearing which makes in-person attendance impractical;
• a change in the nature of the proceeding such as to necessitate a departure from the scheduled mode of hearing;
• a change in representation of a party from self-represented to represented, or vice versa; and
• such other reason as approved by the Court.

Pilot Project

The hearing of matters in accordance with these Hearing Guidelines is on a Pilot Project basis. The mode of hearing matters as set out in these Hearing Guidelines will commence on September 6, 2022 and will be subject to review in early 2023.

All new matters scheduled after July 4, 2022 to be heard on or after September 6^th, 2022 will be scheduled in accordance with these Hearing Guidelines.

Internal Court engagement and external engagement with the Bar, pro bono organizations and the media will be undertaken during the course of the Pilot Project and amendments will be made as necessary.

Default Modes by Hearing Type