The Court of Appeal held that the proper representative of the Crown in proceedings under the Judicial Review Procedure Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 241, is the Attorney General (the “AG”), not Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of the Province of British Columbia (“HMTQ”). The Court further determined that the AG can appear in his own right to speak for the public interest and may advocate for the statutory decision maker if the latter has not engaged separate counsel. The AG may be liable in costs if the tribunal does not file an appearance and the AG argues the merits of the tribunal’s decision.

Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Judicial review – Ministerial powers – Crown representative – Attorney General – Costs liability for Lang v. British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles), [2005] B.C.J. No. 906, British Columbia Court of Appeal, April 25, 2005, Donald, Newbury and Low JJ.A. This appeal relates to four distinct cases in ...