If at any stage of an action the parties of record jointly request a Settlement Conference by filing a requisition, or a judge or master directs that the parties attend a Settlement Conference, then the parties must attend before a judge or master who must, in private and without hearing witnesses, explore all possibilities of settlement. Since the primary objective of a Settlement Conference is to facilitate settlement its format and procedure are rather flexible. That being said, the conference must be recorded. All aspects of the Settlement Conference are without prejudice and the judge or master who conducts the settlement conference will not hear the trial. Settlement Conferences are a rarely used procedure in the BC Supreme Court.