News & Announcements

The South Tower of the Edmonton Law Courts was evacuated at 2:45 pm on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, as a result of a power outage. Investigation and repair work undertaken by Alberta Infrastructure remain underway. As of January 9, 2023, the South Tower of the Edmonton Law Courts remains closed. Power to portions of the South Tower is being restored for January 10, which will allow for the return of some matters to South Tower courtrooms. For further details, please refer to the full announcement.

The Court of King's Bench Clerk's Office will be closed for Christmas Closure from December 24, 2022 through January 2, 2023, inclusive. The Clerk's Office will not be accepting e-mail filings during the Christmas Closure, and similarly courthouses will not be open to allow access to filing drop boxes or the counters. Filing should be provided to the Clerks' office by 4 pm on December 23, whether through email or drop box.

Judicial Dispute Resolution Booking Procedures: Calgary & Edmonton Spring Term (January to June 2023)

The Court of King’s Bench is consolidating, clarifying and re-issuing its practice directives, in an effort to make them easier to find and understand. As part of this project, a number of directives contained in Notices to Profession and Public are being re-issued in the form of new Practice Notes. Court of King’s Bench General Practice Notes 1 – 4 will come into effect January 1, 2023.

The Court of King’s Bench will be closed on December 24, 2022 through January 2, 2023. On December 29, and 30, 2022 a Justice will be available in Edmonton to hear any emergency matters during this time.

The King's Bench Family and Divorce Filing Digital Service is now available in the Judicial Centres of Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, and Lethbridge. The Family and Divorce Filing Digital Service allows lawyers and legal assistants to file desk divorce application packages with and without children, Statement of Claim for Divorce, and Pleadings. This service is available to lawyers/legal assistants only. This announcement does not apply to filings made by self-represented litigants.

La troisième assemblée avec le barreau francophone et bilingue de l'Alberta et la Cour du Banc du Roi aura lieu le 9 décembre à 12h45 par Webex. Les avocats qui souhaitent y assister peuvent demander le lien de la réunion par courriel: servicesenfrancais.QB@albertacourts.ca.

Further to the announcements of the upcoming pandemic meeting with members of the civil bar on December 9, 2022 at 9 AM by WebEx and the pandemic meeting with members of the Surrogate bar on December 12, 2022 at 9 AM by WebEx, please refer to the latest edition of the Law Society of Alberta's eBulletin for the links to each of these meetings. Given the large volume of email responses to our meeting announcement of last week, individual responses to those emails will not be provided.

Alberta lawyers practicing in surrogate and estates law are invited to attend an online meeting with the Chief Justice and Justices of the Court of King’s Bench, to discuss issues related to surrogate practice in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, filing processes and other matters of interest to the surrogate bar.