2003/04 -- 2005/06 Service Plan -- Ministry of Attorney General

Objectives, Strategies, Measures and Targets for Core Business Areas — Continued

Judiciary

This core business area supports the following ministry goals:

Laws and justice services are administered fairly, equitably, and efficiently to all British Columbians, while individual rights and judicial independence are protected
Citizens and communities of British Columbia receive protection from crime and its social and economic consequences

Objective:

Support continued operation of the independent judiciary¹

Strategies:

Support the Provincial Court’s criminal case flow management process and rules, and any initiatives aimed at improving case flow management and trial scheduling
Support the Provincial Court’s justice centre
Support the independent Judicial Compensation Committee process
Support the independent Judicial Justice of the Peace Compensation Committee process
Support the Supreme Court’s reforms for expedited case processing and electronic justice services

Performance Measures:	2001/02 Base Data	2002/03 Estimates	2003/04 Target		2004/05 Target		2005/06 Target
Output Measures²
Provincial Court sitting hours	120,900	115,700	114,700		114,700		114,700
Supreme Court sitting hours	60,000	60,000	60,000		60,000		60,000
Court of Appeal sitting hours	2,700	2,700	2,700		2,700		2,700


1	There are currently 145 Provincial Court Judges, 100 Supreme Court Justices, 14 Masters and 20 Court of Appeal Justices in B.C.
2	The ministry supports the judiciary primarily through providing registry operations, court administration, prisoner escort and court security. The figures shown are projections that indicate the ministry’s expectation of support to the judiciary in terms of staffed court hours provided, rather than performance targets. Actual court hours will depend upon the volumes and characteristics of incoming cases. Sitting hours include only judges’ time spent in hearings or trials, not pre- and post-court activities.

Expenditures for Core Business Area: (With the exception of FTEs, all figures are expressed in thousands of dollars)	2002/03 Restated Estimates	2003/04 Estimates	2004/05 Plan	2005/06 Plan
JUDICIARY¹
Operating Expenditures ($000)
Operating expenditures	51,179	51,636	51,778	51,785
Capital Expenditures (CRF) ($000)
Capital expenditures (CRF)	591	581	262	322
Capital Expenditures (CCP) ($000)
Capital expenditures (CCP)
FTEs
FTEs²	398	396	394	394
Financing Transactions ($000)
Financing Transactions	0	0	0	0
Receipts
Disbursements
Net Cash Source


1	The federal government appoints and funds Justices of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Although the judiciary are independent from the Legislative and Executive arms of government, the provincial budget includes separate allocations for administrative and support services for all courts in B.C., as well as for Provincial Court operations.
2	FTEs funded by the province include Provincial Court Judges and Judicial Justices of the Peace, Provincial Court judicial administration staff, case managers, trial coordinators and support staff, and Supreme Court Masters.