A sealing order restricts public access to court information: sealed documents are treated as confidential, effectively ‘sealed,’ so that the public cannot access/read/review the information. A sealing order is greater than a publication ban which prevents publication of court information but doesn’t otherwise restrict the public from reading this information.
Supreme Court
The general policy, as outlined in The Supreme Court of British Columbia’s Policy on Access to the Court Record is that no one may have access to a sealed court record or a sealed document within the court record unless the court makes an order allowing access.
In the same policy, the Procedure for Access Requests and Applications provides directions for making a request for access to the court record or a portion of the court record by bringing a court application.
Court Application
An application for an order allowing access to the court record or a portion of the court record must be brought in accordance with the applicable Rules of Court (e.g., Supreme Court Civil Rules, Supreme Court Family Rules or Supreme Court Criminal Rules) unless the court directs otherwise.
Applications for access to the court record for any proceeding that has concluded will be heard by the judge or associate judge who presided at the hearing.
Where the judge or associate judge who presided at the hearing is not available to hear the application for access to the court record…or where no particular judge or associate judge is associated with the proceeding, the Chief Justice or the Associate Chief Justice or his or her designate will hear the application.
Court of Appeal
If court records are subject to restrictions on rights of access, those restrictions are in place to protect privacy rights and ensure the proper administration of justice. Many restrictions on rights of access that originate in the Supreme or Provincial Court of British Columbia remain in effect during and frequently after an appeal.
If you would like access to a sealed file or record, you will have to apply for access before a Justice in chambers. For instructions on how to bring an application and model forms, please see Appendix “A”: How to bring a Chambers Application for Access to Specified Court Records
- Law of publication bans, private hearings and sealing orders by James Rossiter – onsite at Courthouse Libraries
- How Do I Get a Publication Ban Lifted? – Courthouse Libraries BC
- Policy on Access to the Court Record – BC Supreme Court
- Appendix A: How to Bring a Chambers Application for Access to Specified Court Records – BC Court of Appeal
- Record and Court Access Policy – BC Court of Appeal
- Applications to Court – Justice Education Society
- Part 8: Applications – Supreme Court Civil Rules
- Part 10: Obtaining Orders Other than at Trial – Supreme Court Family Rules