Assented to May 31, 2012
Part 1 — Definitions and Tribunal Mandate
Division 1 — Definitions and Interpretation
1 (1) In this Act:
"accident claim" means a claim over which the tribunal has jurisdiction under Division 7 [Accident Claims] of Part 10 [Tribunal Jurisdiction];
"applicable Act" means the enactment referred to in section 2.1 in relation to a claim category;
"case management" means the part of a tribunal proceeding for a dispute that is conducted under Part 4 [Case Management Phase];
"case manager" means a tribunal member or other tribunal officer assigned responsibility in relation to Part 4 [Case Management Phase];
"chair" means the chair of the tribunal appointed under section 67 [tribunal chair];
"child" means a person who is under 19 years of age;
"claim" includes any matter that may be resolved by the tribunal;
"claim category" means a category of claims referred to in section 2.1;
"consent resolution order" means an order of the tribunal under
(a) section 26 [consent resolution orders if parties resolve issues or claims by agreement — case management phase], or
(b) section 41 [consent resolution orders if parties resolve issues or claims by agreement — tribunal hearing phase];
"constitutional question" means any question that requires notice to be given under section 8 [Attorney General to be given notice of certain constitutional questions] of the Constitutional Question Act;
"continue" includes the continuation or the transfer, as the case may be, of a claim in a court;
"cooperative association claim" means a claim over which the tribunal has jurisdiction under Division 5 [Cooperative Association Claims] of Part 10;
"court" means the Supreme Court or Provincial Court having jurisdiction;
"default" includes the following circumstances:
(a) if a party fails to comply with section 7 [giving and responding to initiating notice];
(b) if section 36 [referral to tribunal for non-compliance] or section 52 [tribunal may hear or dismiss claims or dispute if party does not participate] applies;
"dismissal order" means an order of the tribunal under
(a) section 22 [parties may request consent dismissal order],
(b) section 35 (2) (a) [order dismissing claim that is an abuse of process],
(c) section 36 (3) (b) [order dismissing claim of non-compliant party in case management phase], or
(d) section 52 (1) (b) [order dismissing claim if party does not participate in tribunal hearing];
"dispute" means the claims that are to be resolved in a single tribunal proceeding;
"electronic" means created, recorded, transmitted or stored in digital or other intangible form by electronic, magnetic or optical means or by any other similar means;
"electronic communication tools" includes a computer program, or other electronic means, used by way of the internet or otherwise, to initiate an activity or to respond to electronic information, records or activities in whole or in part without review by an individual at the time of the activity or response;
"exclusive jurisdiction" means the jurisdiction of the tribunal in respect of certain claims, under section 115 [exclusive jurisdiction of tribunal — privative clause];
"facilitated settlement" means dispute resolution services provided under Division 2 [Facilitated Settlement] of Part 4 [Case Management Phase];
"final decision" means
(a) a decision of the tribunal under section 46 (1) (a) [final decision following tribunal hearing] resolving the claims in a dispute,
(b) a decision of the tribunal by way of a consent resolution order, or
(c) a decision of the tribunal by way of a dismissal order;
"formal written reasons" , in relation to a final decision of the tribunal, means written reasons that are identified in the reasons as being formal written reasons of the tribunal;
"initiating notice" means the notice given under section 6 (1) [initiating notice] by the tribunal to the initiating party;
"initiating party" means the person who made the initial request for tribunal resolution under section 4 [asking the tribunal to resolve a claim] with respect to a dispute;
"intimate image protection claim" means a claim over which the tribunal has jurisdiction under Division 8 [Intimate Image Protection Claims] of Part 10 [Tribunal Jurisdiction];
"legally binding process" means a court proceeding or other process for seeking a remedy that provides a legally binding decision respecting a claim;
"online dispute resolution services" means dispute resolution services that are provided by way of electronic communication tools and are intended to assist parties in resolving a dispute by agreement without direct assistance from a tribunal officer or person engaged or retained by the tribunal to provide facilitated settlement;
"order giving effect to a final decision" means a tribunal order under section 46 (1) (c) [order giving effect to final decision following hearing];
"participate" , in relation to a tribunal hearing, includes participation in the hearing through the means referred to in section 39 [how tribunal hearings are conducted] that apply to the hearing;
"party" means an initiating party or a responding party;
"practice directive" means a practice directive under section 63 [practice directives];
"referenced claim" means a claim over which the tribunal has jurisdiction under Division 2 [Referenced Claims] of Part 10;
"refusal" , in relation to a claim or dispute, means a refusal by the tribunal under
(a) section 11 [general authority for tribunal to refuse to resolve claim or dispute], or
(b) section 36 (3) (c) [tribunal may refuse to resolve claim if party does not comply];
"request for tribunal resolution" means a request under section 4 [asking the tribunal to resolve a claim];
"responding party" means a person who makes a response under section 7 [response];
"rules" means the rules of practice and procedure established under this Act for the tribunal;
"society claim" means a claim over which the tribunal has jurisdiction under Division 6 [Society Claims] of Part 10;
"specialized expertise" means the expertise that the tribunal is to be considered to have in respect of certain claims, under section 116 [specialized expertise of tribunal];
"strata property claim" means a claim over which the tribunal has jurisdiction under Division 4 [Strata Property Claims] of Part 10;
"tribunal" means the Civil Resolution Tribunal referred to in section 2 [Civil Resolution Tribunal mandate and role];
"tribunal member" means
(b) a vice chair or other tribunal member appointed under section 68 [vice chairs and other members], or
(c) a temporary tribunal member appointed under section 69 [temporary tribunal members];
"tribunal officer" means a tribunal member or a person appointed under section 76 [other tribunal officers];
"tribunal small claim" means a claim over which the tribunal has jurisdiction under Division 3 [Tribunal Small Claims] of Part 10, but does not include any other claim category;
"validated" , in relation to orders and final decisions of the tribunal, means validated in accordance with the rules;
"vice chair" means a person appointed as a vice chair of the tribunal under section 68 (1) [vice chairs].
(2) A claim that may be either a tribunal small claim or a claim in another claim category within the jurisdiction of the tribunal is to be adjudicated as the claim category that is not a tribunal small claim.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, the tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction in respect of a claim if the claim is in a claim category in respect of which the applicable Division of Part 10 provides that the tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, the tribunal is to be considered to have specialized expertise in respect of a claim if the claim is in a claim category in respect of which the applicable Division of Part 10 provides that the tribunal is to be considered to have specialized expertise.
Division 2 — Tribunal Mandate
2 (1) The Civil Resolution Tribunal is established, consisting of the chair and other tribunal members appointed in accordance with this Act.
(2) The mandate of the tribunal is to provide dispute resolution services in relation to matters that are within its authority, in a manner that
(a) is accessible, speedy, economical, informal and flexible,
(b) applies principles of law and fairness, and recognizes any relationships between parties to a dispute that will likely continue after the tribunal proceeding is concluded,
(c) uses electronic communication tools to facilitate resolution of disputes brought to the tribunal, and
(d) accommodates, so far as the tribunal considers reasonably practicable, the diversity of circumstances of the persons using the services of the tribunal.
(3) In fulfilling its mandate, the role of the tribunal is
(a) to encourage the resolution of disputes by agreement between the parties, and
(b) if resolution by agreement is not reached, to resolve the dispute by deciding the claims brought to the tribunal by the parties.
(4) In addition to its responsibilities in relation to disputes brought to the tribunal for resolution, the tribunal may
(a) provide the public with information on dispute resolution processes generally, and
(b) make its online dispute resolution services available to the public generally.
2.1 The tribunal may, in accordance with this Act, adjudicate the following claim categories:
(a) claims in relation to a relevant enactment, under Division 2 [Referenced Claims] of Part 10 [Tribunal Jurisdiction];
(b) claims in relation to the Small Claims Act, under Division 3 [Tribunal Small Claims] of Part 10;
(c) claims in relation to the Strata Property Act, under Division 4 [Strata Property Claims] of Part 10;
(d) claims in relation to the Cooperative Association Act, under Division 5 [Cooperative Association Claims] of Part 10;
(e) claims in relation to the Societies Act, under Division 6 [Society Claims] of Part 10;
(f) claims in respect of accidents, as defined in section 132 [definitions for Division — accident claims], under Division 7 [Accident Claims] of Part 10;
(g) claims in relation to the Intimate Images Protection Act, under Division 8 [Intimate Image Protection Claims] of Part 10.
3 [Repealed 2015-16-2.]