Professor John McLaren Honoured With Award
Prof. John McLaren, retired faculty member from University of Victoria’s faculty of law, is the recipient of the 2008 Craigdarroch Gold Medal for Career Achievement in Research. Now retired, McLaren is considered a leading legal historian in the common law world.

His thoughtful examinations ranged from the collision of religious belief and common law to the role of law as a moral regulator in areas such as prostitution, obscenity and public nudity. He has also peeled back years of legal history to examine the role that law has played in creating and maintaining social order, granting and withholding civil rights, and creating colonial societies.

Established in 2003, the annual Craigdarroch awards honour research excellence at UVic. They are named for Craigdarroch Castle, home to the university’s predecessor institution, Victoria College.


New Website: Learn About the Small Claims Court Pilot Project
SmallClaimsBC.ca is a website that explains the new Small Claims Court project that is currently being piloted at the Robson Square and Richmond courthouses. Visitors to the new website can view a video introduction, narrated by Hugh C. Stansfield, Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of B.C.

This website is meant to help people learn about the Small Claims Court procedures. The website provides helpful introductions to Summary Trials, Simplified Trials, Mediations, Trial Conferences, and Trials. Also on this site are: Frequently Asked Questions, information in other languages, a glossary, forms that can be downloaded, and other useful resources.

For more information, please visit the site at www.SmallClaimsBC.ca or contact Laureen.Tang@lawcourtsed.ca if you are interested in receiving promotional business cards with the website address.


Family Rules Online Forum Submissions Invited to June 30
Justice professionals are invited to make submissions, via an online forum at: www.bcjusticereviewforum.ca/, on a B.C. Justice Review Task Force (JRTF) concept draft of the proposed new Supreme Court family rules. The opportunity to make submissions is available until June 30.

The rules flow from the 2005 report of the Family Justice Reform Working Group, which was appointed by the JRTF to make recommendations for changes to the family justice system. The report, A New Justice System for Families and Children, outlines a new vision for the family justice system and addresses a range of family justice services and processes that are, or should be, available to people experiencing family breakdown. The report makes 37 recommendations, including those related to the establishment of family justice “hubs,” consensual dispute resolution, rules, and family court structure.

Recommendations related to court rules include:

• that rules and forms for family cases be simplified and streamlined to allow for expedited, economical resolution of all cases, with processes proportional and appropriate to the value and importance of the case; and
• that every family law form and procedure be made easier for unrepresented individuals to use and understand.

The JRTF formed the Family Rules Working Group to draft new Supreme Court and Provincial Court family rules.

In addition to inviting feedback through the online forum, the JRTF conducted consultation sessions with the Bar in Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna and Vancouver. The feedback received through the consultations will inform a revised draft of the proposed new Supreme Court family rules. It is anticipated that the rules will go forward to Cabinet in fall 2008, with a target date for implementation for the Supreme Court rules early in 2010.

A completion date for a consultation draft of new Provincial Court family rules has not yet been established. – Hon. Wally Oppal, Attorney General

These articles were published in the June 2008 issue of BarTalk. © 2008 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.