Committee Volunteers
The deadline for 2002/2003 committee volunteer applications has been extended to June 17, 2002.

To volunteer on a committee send a completed form (available at www.cba.org/BC), with ranking of preferred committees that you wish to participate on, to Rose Fabbro at the Branch office.


BC International Commercial Arbitration Centre
If you invest in the stock market or provide advice in the securities field, the BC International Commercial Arbitration Centre (the Centre) hopes you will complete their survey. All survey participants will have the chance to win a dinner for two at the Mosaic Restaurant in Vancouver’s Hyatt Hotel.

The Centre would like your feedback and opinions on certain programs and on their mediation/arbitration role in resolving disputes in the securities industry.

The questionnaire, which should take approximately 15 minutes to complete, is located at www.bcicac.com. For more information, contact Peter Grove, CA, Cert.Med., Executive Director, BC International Commercial Arbitration Centre.

T: 604-684-2821
F: 604-684-2825


BC Students Demonstrate Interest in Law Week
The Barry Sullivan Law Cup Public Speaking Contest featured 22 students from throughout BC who presented their speeches in front of judges at the Law Courts. All participants were well-prepared and presented interesting viewpoints. The winner of the Barry Sullivan Law Cup was Sophie Bannar-Martin of St. Margaret’s School.

The Law Week 2002 theme “Freedom and the Charter in the 21st Century” was incorporated into student entries for the Short Story Contest, which was won by Amanda Bartusek of South Peace Senior School.

All Photo Contest entries were well-received by judges and the public. The winner of the Photo Contest was Gerald Rarama of Killarney Secondary School. All contest entries may be viewed at www.cba.org/BC.

The Student Mentor Program introduced the practice of law to students as dozens of lawyers visited schools to speak on the law or hosted job-shadowing students at their offices.

We express our sincere thanks to all judges and members who participated in making Law Week 2002 a great success.


Land Title Branch: Prince George LTO Closure
On June 28, 2002, the Prince George Land Title Office will close and its records will be consolidated with the records of the Lower Mainland Land Title Office. (The Prince George Land Title Office was amalgamated with Prince Rupert in 1997). On the same date, the Application Receiving Centre at the Government Agent’s office in Prince Rupert will stop receiving applications for the Prince George Land Title Office.

On July 2, 2002, all applications submitted to the Prince George Land Title Office (directly or through the Prince Rupert Application Receiving Centre) on or before June 28, 2002, will be dealt with at the Lower Mainland Land Title Office. All applications dealing with titles in the Prince George or Prince Rupert Land Title Districts are to be submitted for registration commencing July 2, 2002, to the Lower Mainland Land Title Office, 88-6th Street, New Westminster, BC V3L 5B3, Tel: 604.660.2595.

From July 2, 2002, anyone wishing to contact the Lower Mainland Land Title Office respecting applications or matters pertaining to the Prince George or Prince Rupert land title districts may call toll free 1.866.660.3223. The contact person for Prince George/Prince Rupert applications is Deputy Registrar Brian Bigras.


New Family Law Procedures (Rule 60E)
Effective July 1, 2002, Rule 60E will come into force. Rule 60E provides for Judicial Case Conferences to be conducted by a Judge or Master. Subrule 60E(1) provides that the Judicial Case Conference must be held before a party can deliver to another party a notice of motion or affidavit in support of an interlocutory application.

Without notice applications, applications made by consent and applications made pursuant to section 57 and 67 of the Family Relations Act are not subject to this requirement. In addition, Subrule 60E(3) provides that a party may apply to be relieved of the requirement to attend a judicial case conference on specified grounds, including urgency or danger to health or safety of any person. A Judicial Case Conference may also be requested by a party or directed by a Judge or Master.

A copy of Rule 60E can be found at www.courts.gov.bc.ca under “Amendments to the Supreme Court Rules”, B.C. Reg. 83/2002 (May 3, 2002).


Reports Available
Private Care Agreements Between Older Adults and Friends or Family Members (March 2002) reviews the law of private care agreements and makes recommendations including guidelines for good practice and legislation. Source: BC Law Institute. Available at www.bcli.org.

Sustainable Resource Management: A Landscape-Level Strategy for Resource Development (May 2002) describes the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management approach to landscape-level planning and invites public comment. Source: Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management. Available at www.gov.bc.ca.

Civil Liability Consultation Paper (April 2002) reviews civil liability matters including: limitation periods, joint and several liability, costs in class action suits, vicarious liability and alternatives to the traditional “lump sum” damage awards. The government deadline for comment is June 15. 2002. Source: Ministry of Attorney General. Available at www.gov.bc.ca/ag.

Reviewing Original Decisions: Guiding Principles and Options (April 2002) analyses the process of reviewing original decisions and states guiding principles and options for doing so. The government deadline for comment was May 15, 2002. Source: Ministry of Attorney General. Available at www.gov.bc.ca.


Supreme Court of British Columbia
Practice Direction: Citation of Unreported Judgments in Submissions to the Court
To ensure that all parties have an opportunity to properly consider unreported judgments, counsel and self-represented litigants should not rely upon unreported reasons for judgment in the course of making either oral or written submissions to the court, without first providing a copy to the opposing party. Reasons for Judgment published on the BC Superior Court’s Web site, other court Web sites or other widely available electronic databases such as Quicklaw and eCarswell are considered to be reported decisions for the purposes of this directive.

For the complete Practice Direction (May 10, 2002) see www.courts.gov.bc.ca


BC Courthouse Library Society
Courthouse Library Closures
Due to courthouse closures around the province, the BC Courthouse Library Society (BCCLS) will close 14 branch libraries on or before May 30, 2002. Wherever possible, BCCLS will donate the collections to libraries and colleges based in those affected communities, to ensure access to the resources for the legal community as well as the public.

Increased Hours At Regional Branch Libraries
BCCLS has increased staffing schedules at six regional libraries to provide increased reference service. Kelowna and Nanaimo are now fully staffed Mondays to Thursdays; New Westminster is staffed Monday to Friday; and Kamloops, Prince George and Victoria all have replacement staff to provide increased library services.


Lawyers Assistance Program (LAP)
LAP provides confidential support, counselling and referrals for lawyers, their families, support staff, judges and students suffering from alcohol and/or chemical dependency, stress, depression or just about any type of personal problem.

For assistance or information on meetings and resources please call 604.685.2171 or toll free 1.888.685.2171.

The LAP office is located at 415-1080 Mainland Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2T4.


Sites du Jour
www.aidslaw.ca offers the latest issue of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Policy and Law Review (PDF format). The newsletter provides updates and analysis on recent developments in Canadian news, international news, global access to treatment, and HIV/AIDS in the courts.

www.netlawtools.com offers a mixture of articles, links, how-to guides and more, all focused on lawyers’ use of the Internet. Substantive sections on research, marketing and other uses are supplemented by regular features. Recommended by Robert J. Ambrogi (U.S. National Law Journal), as published in the Lang Michener Supreme Court of Canada LAWLETT@R 24/2002

Do you have a site to recommend? Send a link to cba@bccba.org, attention BarTalk.

These articles were published in the June 2002 issue of BarTalk. © 2002 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.