Inventory of Reforms
Yukon Small Claims Court
Year:
1995
Description:
Overview of the Yukon Small Claims Court.
Status:
Permanent implementation
Jurisdiction:
Yukon
Court:
Small Claims Court
Timeline:
April 1, 2006: Monetary jurisdiction of the Court increased from $5,000 to $25,000
2008: Consultation on the proposed amendments to regulations of theSmall Claims Act began
Publications:
Small Claims Court Act Regulations,PDFExternal Link Y.O.I.C. 1995/152.
News ReleaseExternal Link (Yukon Government, January 4, 2008).
Small Claims CourtExternal Link (website) (Yukon Courts, 2009).
Development:
The Small Claims Court of the Yukon is established by the Small Claims Court Act.
Description of Reforms:
The Small Claims Court hears civil cases in which the amount of money or the value of personal property being claimed is $25,000 or less. It does not have jurisdiction over actions concerning land, actions against a personal representative of a deceased person, or actions for libel or slander…
The Small Claims Court sits in the same locations as the Territorial Court and can hear cases as part of court circuits to the communities. Every judge of the Territorial Court is a judge of the Small Claims Court.
Website
Highlights:
- Any matter set for trial must go to a pre-trial conference
- Since 1995, parties to small claims matters have been encouraged to take part in mediation of their disputes. The process has evolved over the years so that mediation can actually take place as part of the pre-trial conference rather than having to adjourn the process to a later date in order for mediation to occur.
- Discovery is not permitted, unless the court deems it necessary in the interests of justice
2006 Amendments
The Small Claims Court Act was amended effective April 1, 2006:
- the monetary jurisdiction was raised from $5,000 to $25,000
- the appeals process was updated
- a process was set in place to move matters to Supreme Court if the amount was likely to go higher than the new limit
Criteria and Methods of Evaluation:
At the beginning of 2008, the Yukon government began the consultation process on amending regulations to the Small Claims Court Act in order to modernize the small claims court process.
Results:
It is proposed that the amended regulations will be finalized in the Fall of 2009.
Revision History:
This summary was last reviewed in Oct 10, 2013