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New Westminster (B.C.) Divorce--British Columbia
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New Westminster Supreme Court orders and judgements

  • GR-2018
  • Series
  • 1940-1945, 1948-2004

This series contains New Westminster Supreme Court orders from January 1940 to May 1945 and January 1948 to December 2004 (predominantly up to April 2001). Orders are the formal expression of the ruling of the court and judgements are the final orders issued in a case. Records relate to a variety of civil matters including divorces, bankruptcies, foreclosures, probates, and some adoptions.

Records are arranged by volume and folio number as assigned by the court registry. Beginning in May 1950, orders and judgements were separated and volume numbers 49-108 are duplicated. Beginning in March 1976, orders and judgements are interfiled. Between October 1990 and December 2004, orders, default judgements, certificates, and determinations related to financial cases were separated into their own volumes, 148-204, once again creating duplicated volume numbers. Researchers are encouraged to check volume numbers against dates when searching for specific records. Most, but not all, volumes include indexes or volume file lists. However, beginning in July 1990, volumes include a file list by case number only. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51400-25.

British Columbia. Supreme Court (New Westminster)

New Westminster divorce cause books

  • GR-3749
  • Series
  • 1968-1977

The series consists of 8 volumes of divorce cause books created by the New Westminster Supreme Court between 1968 and 1977. The cause books are arranged chronologically, and cases are assigned a number in the cause book. Cause book entries generally consist of the names of the parties, their solicitors, a list of the proceedings, and a volume and folio number which can be used to obtain a copy of the divorce order. Cause books are a particularly valuable source of information, as they list proceedings for divorce trials that were ultimately dismissed or abandoned. In these instances, the only surviving evidence that the case took place is found in the divorce cause books, as no final order would have been issued.

British Columbia. Supreme Court (New Westminster)

New Westminster Supreme Court civil cause books and case record cards

  • GR-1564
  • Series
  • 1881-1977

Series consists of civil cause books and case record cards from the New Westminster Supreme Court from September 1881 to April 1977. There are no cause books for November 1947 to August 1949 or for July to December 1975 and volume 11 (1956) is missing. Cause books and case records cards provide the framework for Supreme Court civil action cases and may include the names of parties, the dates when proceedings occurred, and can be used to determine volume and folio numbers for locating final orders and/or judgements. Cause books were used by the courts until approximately the mid-1970s. They were replaced by case record cards, which were replaced by digital systems in the 1990s. They are often the only source of information for divorces that were not finalized since no final order would have been granted and case files are destroyed.

Records are arranged chronologically by the date a case was initiated. Case file numbers were then assigned sequentially and include the year a case was initiated. Original textual records prior to 1949 were destroyed after microfilming. Retrieve records using microfilm reels The records were scheduled for retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 53200-20.

British Columbia. Supreme Court (New Westminster)

New Westminster divorce trial books

  • GR-3747
  • Series
  • 1957-1977

The series consists of six volumes of divorce trial record books created by the New Westminster Supreme Court between 1957 and 1977. The books are arranged in a similar manner to divorce cause books, but list the Central Divorce Registry file number rather than a volume and folio number. Divorce trial books also provide a list of exhibits used in the case, and the names of individuals who provided affidavits.

Similar to cause books, trial books provide evidence of divorce proceedings that may later have been abandoned or dismissed, thereby not resulting in a divorce order. In these cases, the trial record book and cause book may be the only evidence that still exists of such cases.

Records in the trial books are arranged chronologically from the back of the volume to the front, and are assigned a four-digit number in addition to the number provided by the Central Divorce Registry. Please see GR-3748 for alphabetical indexes to these volumes.

Researchers should note that the volumes were frequently referred to as "Divorce and Matrimonial Causes record books." This is in reference to legislation which governed divorces in BC until 1972, and does not refer to the type of court record known as a cause book.

British Columbia. Supreme Court (New Westminster)

New Westminster divorce trial book indexes

  • GR-3748
  • Series
  • 1967-1974

The series consists of seven small volumes of indexes to divorce trial record books created in the New Westminster Supreme Court registry between 1967 and 1974. The indexes provide a number which can be used to locate the corresponding divorce trial record in the appropriate book. Trial books are arranged by this number in reverse order, with the earlier numbers found at the back of the book. Numbers were continuous across volumes and do not reset to 1.

It is unclear whether these indexes were originally tucked inside the trial record books, or if they were maintained separately as a manual indexing system.

British Columbia. Supreme Court (New Westminster)

New Westminster Supreme Court judgements

  • GR-2571
  • Series
  • 1949-1951

The series consists of judgements created by the New Westminster Supreme Court registry between 1949 and 1951. Orders are the formal expression of the ruling of the court and judgements are the final orders issued in a case. Records (volumes 47 and 48), are mostly, but not all, divorce and matrimonial cases. They include an index, by plaintiff.

British Columbia. Supreme Court (New Westminster)