The cost of accessing justice ...

There was an troubling article in today's Globe and Mail by Gary Mason about the high fees that parties must pay to the BC Supreme Court for the right to have a jury trial. The case in question would have had the plaintiffs paying about $15,000 in "rent" for the courthouse and another $25,000 for jury fees. The fees proved too much for the plaintiff, who was forced to abandon her trial.

The cost of the justice system is something that is paid for by all our taxes. Adding substantial user fees erects a barrier to justice. If people cannot afford to access the system, can one say that there is equal justice for all? I note that when this issue came up in Nova Scotia the court struck down similar court hearing fees as violating the public's Charter right to access the courts: see Pleau v Nova Scotia (Prothonotary) 1998 CanLII 12462 (NSSC).

Cases like the one discussed by Mr Mason highlight the system's need to address the increasingly high barriers to access to our courts being erected by user fees, party-and-party costs and solicitors's fees.