Community Legal Assistance Society - BC Judicial Review Self-Help Guide

The Court’s Decision

In most WCAT judicial reviews, the judge will reserve their decision. This means that the judge will think about your case and make a decision at a later date. Most of the time, the judge will write out a decision. The court staff will let you know once the decision is ready and then send it to you by email.

In some cases, the court staff will tell you to come back to court at a particular time because the judge will be reading out the decision. If the judge reads out the reasons instead of writing them down, pay attention to what the judge is saying and make notes. It is especially important to write down any orders the judge makes. Generally, listen for:

  • Whether the court has allowed or dismissed the petition;
  • Whether the court has “set aside” or “quashed”WCAT’s decision;
  • Whether the court makes some other type of order; and
  • Whether the judge orders court costs.

Unless the judge tells you otherwise, the judge’s decision is in effect from the date it is made even if a formal order has not been written up yet.

The party that loses the judicial review can appeal the decision to the BC Court of Appeal within thirty days from the date the court makes its order. You should get legal advice if you are considering an appeal.

This website, jrbc.ca or judicialreviewbc.ca, is produced for educational purposes only. This website has information on common situations, but does not cover all possible situations. You should not rely on this website as legal advice. If you have a legal problem, you should get legal advice on your particular situation.

This website may contain inaccurate or misleading information. The law, including statutes, regulations, court rules, court practices, and court precedents can change without warning and those changes may not be reflected in this website. The Community Legal Assistance Society, its funders, its authors, its contributors, its editors, and the distributors of this website are not responsible for ensuring this website is up-to-date, ensuring the completeness or accuracy of the information contained in this website, or any form of damages or monetary loss caused by or attributed to the use of this website, including but not limited to claims based on negligence or breach of contract.

Site by the Community Legal Assistance Society. Content available under Creative Commons CC BY-NC licence. This guide is made possible by funding from the British Columbia Ministry of Justice and the Law Foundation of British Columbia. This guide was originally produced by David Mossop, Q.C.
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