With the addition of Instagram and LinkedIn, the BC Provincial Court is now using a trio of social media accounts to communicate with the public.
The Court began actively posting on Twitter in 2014. Its interactive account used a friendly, conversational tone and responded helpfully to tweeted questions and comments. In 2016, 2017 and 2019, the Court hosted three live Twitter Town Halls. During these two-hour events, the Court’s Chief Judge (accompanied by guests in the third session) discussed issues and responded to tweeted questions from followers.
The Court’s use of Twitter to engage with the public in a way that was less formal than most court communications was well-received. It played a part in earning Canadian Law Blogs Awards honouring “the very best in Canadian online legal content” for the Court in 2019 and 2022. The account continues to post Court updates, judges’ and justice system news, high profile judgments, items of interest, and helpful information for court users on X.
The Court has now begun posting on LinkedIn and Instagram. While the content of the three social media accounts overlaps, there are some differences. Posts on the LinkedIn account will interest people working in or curious about the justice system, and they will include some longer articles. Posts on Instagram are of more general interest, while X posts contain information for both justice system participants and the public.
X will remain the Court’s primary channel for communicating information about operations promptly - information like court closures and updates to policies and practice directions generally appear on X shortly after it is posted on the Court’s website.
The Court will continue to interact with followers on X and will respond to comments on LinkedIn as time permits. As monitoring time is limited, the Instagram account will not accept comments.
Terms of use for the Court’s social media accounts are set out on the Court’s website.
Please check us out:
• @BCProvCourt on X
• Provincial Court of British Columbia on LinkedIn
• bcprovincialcourt on Instagram
• Social media terms of use