Judge applications
Applications may be submitted at any time and must be made using the Court's online system.
Appointment process
Judicial Council screens and approves applicants as qualified for appointment. The provincial Attorney General selects from the candidates approved by Judicial Council and makes recommendations to Cabinet. Judges are appointed to the Provincial Court by the Lieutenant Governor in Council acting on the advice of the provincial Cabinet.
Judicial Council requires lawyers seeking appointment as judges to submit detailed applications. Judicial Council then asks the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and the Law Society of BC to investigate each applicant. Credit, driving and criminal record checks are also conducted. Members of Judicial Council review the applications, investigations, and references, conduct interviews and approve qualified candidates for recommendation. When an opening is available, the Chief Judge sends the Attorney General a list of approved candidates who are eligible for appointment to that region.
Judicial Council attempts to ensure that the diversity of BC’s population is reflected on the Provincial Court bench. Applicants are invited to include information relating to their ethnic or cultural backgrounds in their applications if they wish. Judicial Council may consider factors such as the applicants’ gender, age, ethnicity, region and type of practice.
Judicial Council also encourages applications from individuals whose first official language is French or who are, without further training, able to read and understand court material, converse with counsel, conduct hearings and write decisions in French.
Once appointed, a judge can only be removed before retirement for misconduct or inability to perform duties properly. The standard of conduct expected of Provincial Court judges is outlined in the Ethical Principles for Judges.
Applying to be a judge
Judicial Council welcomes the interest of qualified persons wishing to be considered for appointment to the Provincial Court.
Judicial Council has established a broad range of skills for applicants (listed in the Judicial Candidate Application Worksheet) that help to ensure that the candidates appointed are exceptional individuals who demonstrate the highest professional qualifications, temperament, ability and community respect. You may wish to use the Judicial Candidate Worksheet to collect the information you need to complete the application.
You begin by creating a user account. Once you log in, select Judicial Candidate Application form. You can save your partially completed application, log out and log in later. When ready, submit the Judicial Candidate Application and a digital photograph of yourself to the Office of the Chief Judge.
You must also complete the following documents online:
Consent for Disclosure of Personal Information
Law Society Authorization and Release
Online background eConsent forms
Online Judicial Application Information
Judicial Candidate Application Worksheet
Applying for re-appointment as a judge
Retired judges may apply for:
Re-appointment (if they have not held office as a senior judge)
Appointment to hold office as a senior judge for a term of one year
Re-appointment as a senior judge for additional terms (each term being for one year)
Judicial Council welcomes these applications. Before proceeding with an application, applicants should read the Judicial Re-Appointment Process Summary. You may wish to use the Judicial Re-Appointment Candidate Worksheet to collect the information you need to complete the application.
You begin by creating a user account. Once you log in, select the Judicial Re-Appointment Application form. You can save your partially completed application, log out, and log in later. When ready, submit the Judicial Re-Appointment Application and a digital photograph of yourself to the Office of the Chief Judge.
You must also complete the following documents online:
Office of the Chief Judge Authorization and Release form
Online background eConsent forms