The B.C. government is inviting British Columbians to share their thoughts about what the future of the civil jury process should look like.
Provincial officials said public consultation is the next step to determine what measures, if any, should be implemented by the government.
The three options the government is considering are:
– Continuing with civil jury trials, with or without changes to law and practice
– Restricting jury trials to particular cases, such as defamation, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution
– Abolishing jury trials in civil matters.
B.C. government officials said every province handles civil juries differently with some having restrictions while one province has eliminated civil jury trials entirely.
Provincial officials are asking interested residents to read over a report provided by the BC Law Institute.
MORE: Civil Juries in British Columbia Report (BC Law Institute)
The consultation runs until September 30th, 2021 and the province is asking residents to email recommendations to PLD@gov.bc.ca.