Nine judges added to BC courts
FROM PAGE 1.
One of the projects will start in spring 2013 and focus on reducing pending child protection cases in selected courthouse locations. A second backlog reduction project will begin later in 2013 and focus on reducing the criminal case backlog.
With these new appointees, B.C. now has 132 full-time-equivalent judges. It costs the Province close to $1.6 million annually to support a judge, including the judge’s salary and costs for court administration staff, sheriffs, prosecution services and judicial support.
As recommended in the Cowper report, the B.C. government is consulting with the provincial court judiciary to establish a method for determining a set judicial complement. It is anticipated that this new approach will use evidence-based information to both identify possible efficiencies and better align judicial resources to workload and other demands.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General Shirley Bond said, “The addition of nine new judges and the backlog reduction projects – and specifically the assignment of judicial resources to these projects – signal a shared understanding by all parties that changes need to be made to improve the justice system. These are important steps to justice reform and demonstrate that government is committed to following through on recommendations made by Geoffrey Cowper.”
“I want to acknowledge that the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice are working together to develop innovative methods to manage the courts and reduce backlogs so that the needs of British Columbians are addressed in a timely manner.”
• The appointments take effect over the next seven weeks.
• The process to appoint judges involves several steps:
• Interested lawyers apply and the B.C. judicial council, a committee made up of the chief judge, other judges, lawyers and lay people, reviews the candidates.
• The council recommends potential judges to the attorney general, with the final appointment made through a cabinet order-in-council.
• The B.C. government will announce the rest of the justice reform action plan in White Paper: Part Two early in the new year.
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