Supreme Court Of Canada Strikes Down Court Hearing Fees As Unconstitutional

The Supreme Court of Canada struck down the court hearing fees imposed by the province of British Columbia as being unconstitutional because they prevent access to the courts in a manner that is inconsistent with section 96 of the Constitution and the underlying principle of the rule of law.

The Case History

The SCC's October 2, 2014 decision in Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2014 SCC 59, arose from a family law action in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The parties were not represented by lawyers, and the trial took 10 days. Under a schedule of hearing fees contained in the BC Supreme Court Civil Rules, the hearing fees would have amounted to $3,600, which the trial judge found was almost the net monthly income of the family.

The Rules in BC impose no fee for the first three days of trial, $500 per day for the fourth through tenth days of trial, and then $800 per day from the eleventh day onwards. The Rules also contain an exemption from paying the hearing fees if the court finds that a person is "impoverished" (or, in the words of the former rules that were...