The Provincial Court of BC has developed standardized wording for many common court orders. They are organized in “picklists” available on courtroom computers so a court clerk can use them to quickly and accurately capture the order a judge makes. 

Picklists include number and letter codes that help the clerk find a term quickly. When a judge announces a number or a number and letter before imposing a court order, they are helping the court clerk locate the appropriate template for that order and note it accurately and efficiently.

When a judge imposes a court order, they first decide what terms are necessary and then consider how best to word those terms. Using picklist wording helps judges craft clear and enforceable orders in busy courtrooms. It can streamline the court process and make it more understandable. When a judge decides to change standard wording, the clerk edits the term using the judge’s wording.

For all types of cases

For decades, Provincial Court judges created lists of common court order terms for their own use or use in a particular courthouse. Then, in 2016, the Court adopted picklists for province-wide use in criminal cases. The Court worked with the BC government’s Court Services Branch to distribute copies and ensure court clerks and registries around BC had access to digital picklists. The scope and success of these efforts led to the project receiving a Justice and Public Safety Sector Award for Collaboration in 2018. 

Since then, the Court has added picklists with wording of common orders in family, small claims and youth court cases. 

Picklists are available on the Court’s website (as both WORD documents and PDFs) so lawyers and litigants can use standard wording when drafting court orders they will ask a judge to make. They can use the Word documents to copy selected terms and insert relevant details. 

Criminal orders picklists (Bail, conditional sentence, probation, peace bond, and “red zone” terms)

Youth court picklists (Bail and sentencing terms)

Family orders picklists (Family Law Act and Child, Family and Community Service Act order terms)

Small claims orders picklists 

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Collaborative efforts

Developing, updating and circulating picklists is challenging work. It’s both time-consuming and time-sensitive. The Court’s Family, Criminal and Civil Law Committees are responsible for identifying terms commonly used in Provincial Court orders and drafting standard wording. These committees each consist of about eight judges from around BC who volunteer their time to advise the Chief Judge and inform judges about developments in the committee’s area of law. 

During the process of drafting standard orders, they consult and receive input from other judges and judicial justices, lawyers, and depending on the type of order, court user, community resource and other stakeholder groups, Community Corrections (probation), and/or police agencies. Their goal is to craft orders that meet legal requirements and are clear, unambiguous, and enforceable. 

When laws change or an appeal court makes a decision affecting the validity or wording of an order, the committees go to work again, redrafting terms and issuing updated picklists. Every time a picklist is updated, committee members work with the Court Services Branch to coordinate timing, so judges and lawyers have access to it at the same time it is loaded on computers in courthouses around BC. This keeps everyone literally “on the same page”. 

Picklists couldn’t be produced without the invaluable support of the Court’s Integrated Judicial Services (IJS) managers and staff members who compile, format, proofread, and distribute the lists and post them on the Court’s website and on judges’ computers. 

Court governance and committees – more on IJS and committees 

“Our court order picklists make an important contribution to the administration of justice in BC. They help lawyers, litigants and probation officers propose well-worded orders. They help judges draft clear, enforceable orders that court registries can produce more quickly and with less work. They reduce the time litigants wait to get a copy of their order. And they reduce  appeals based on the wording of orders. 

The Court is very grateful to the judges, justices, Integrated Judicial Services and Court Services Branch managers and staff who work so hard to draft and promptly update picklist terms.”

                                                     Chief Judge Melissa Gillespie