The Court of Queen's Bench will resume scheduling Civil, Family and Commercial Trials and full day specials between January 4, 2021 and July 2, 2021. To request a Family, Civil or Commercial trial or full day special, you must complete the Family, Civil and Commercial Triage Form in full. The form is available
here. Please allow three to four business days to receive a response from the Court.
The Trial Triage Form does not eliminate the need for parties to comply with Alberta
Rules of Court requirements. For Civil, Family and Commercial trial booking requests, parties must have filed a Form 37 or an Order directing the matter to Trial, paid the required trial fee and addressed the dispute resolution process requirements in accordance with
Alberta Rules of Court 8.4 and 8.5. Please see the announcement regarding the Extension of the Enforcement of the Mandatory Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules
here.
For Family trials in Calgary and Edmonton, leave to schedule a trial is required from a Family Docket Court Justice prior to submitting the Family, Civil and Commercial Trial Triage Form. Family trials in the Court's regional locations should be booked following normal procedures.
In addition to the above ADR Requirement, a pre-trial conference is required for trials scheduled for 3 days or longer or trials involving a self-represented litigant, in accordance with
NPP #2018-03.
Further to the September 10, 2020 announcement available
here, all matters with
viva voce evidence including criminal, family and civil trials will be heard entirely in person in COVID-safe courtrooms. If any remote witnesses or video conference testimony is required, the exact date and times of the testimony must be scheduled with the appropriate Court Coordinator at least two weeks in advance. This is subject to resource availability. Remote testimony must still be approved by the presiding Justice but needs to be arranged in advance.
The default for all hearings without viva voce evidence will be via video conference. If a party is unable to attend remotely, they may request an in person hearing through the appropriate Court Coordinator, which is subject to courtroom availability.