With the passing of the late Queen Elizabeth II, we wish to express our deepest condolences to the Royal Family. Her Majesty dedicated over 70 years of her life to public service – the longest reigning Monarch in British history. As Head of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty was a much loved and respected figure, tying billions of people together worldwide. Her dedication, courage, and wisdom inspired many.
The late Queen Elizabeth II’s passing prompts changes in nomenclature in four provincial superior courts in Canada: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and New Brunswick. Effective September 8, 2022, Alberta has changed their superior court name from the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta to the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, reflecting the reign of King Charles III.
This change was made in accordance with section 2.1 of the Court of Queen’s Bench Act, which states that the superior court in Alberta will be styled as the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta during the reign of the King. This change will reflect how the Court is referenced henceforth in all documents and proceedings and will impact the filing process. The legal citation of cases heard at the superior courts will also take the form of ABKB rather than the former ABQB. Those practitioners who were awarded the Queen’s Counsel designation (QC) will now have the King’s Counsel (KC) designation behind their name.
The late Queen Elizabeth II ruled longer than any other Monarch in England, thus the name of Alberta’s superior court has remained unchanged for the last few decades. As per the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta notice, there will be a grace period for forms and filings. The Court encourages counsel and litigants to adopt the new nomenclature. The Court also acknowledges that there are a significant number of forms and templates posted to the Court’s website, and elsewhere, that include reference to the Court of Queen’s Bench and/or Her Majesty the Queen. Therefore, the Court will continue to accept forms and other filed documents that refer to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta until further notice.
The LESA team is currently working to update all required electronic forms available on the LESA Library. If you are a LESA Library subscriber, you will receive an email once the forms are fully up to date with the new nomenclature.
Future changes to Alberta courts’ process and procedure will be updated on the LESA blog.
