Government supports reforms to improve Courts

Government response supports reforms to improve Courtsystem

The Government has indicated its agreement withmany of the recommendations made by the Law Commission inits report on Criminal Pre-Trial Processes, in theGovernment's response to the report tabled in Parliamenttoday.

The Law Commission report, published in June2005, made 70 recommendations to reform pre-trial processesfor resolving cases or preparing them for trial.

"Theplanned changes will significantly modernise courtprocedure, reduce costs, help address delays in hearingcases and improve the overall effectiveness and efficiencyof the Courts," Justice Minister Mark Burton said.

"Thevast majority of criminal cases are resolved before trialbut court procedures have not kept up with the changingdemands on the court system," he said.

Among the LawCommission's key recommendations was that there should beearly and more comprehensive disclosure of the prosecutioncase to the defendant. The Government supports this andwill give effect to the changes in the Criminal ProcedureBill, which is currently before the House.

The Governmentalso agrees in principle with the Law Commission'srecommendations on an expanded role for the PoliceProsecution Service, particularly in relation to earlycharge scrutiny, subject to the undertaking of more detaileddesign and costing work by Police.

The Government responsealso included the following:

· The Commission alsorecommended reforms to the operation of the List Court. TheGovernment has agreed and notes that work on reform in thisarea is already underway led by the Minister for Courts aspart of the significant programme of service improvementfunded in the 2005 Budget. · That there should be, onaverage fewer appearances during the administrative periodof cases, which is the time before a judge is normallyrequired to be involved. · The Government has askedofficials to consider options for developing andimplementing case management processes that provide atargeted response to the needs of different types ofcases.

Over a longer period, the Government has alsoundertaken to give further consideration to a range ofproposed legislative changes. These include:

· Formalising sentence indications and discounts for earlyguilty pleas.

· Providing for Courts to make cost ordersagainst counsel for proceduralnon-compliance.

· Clarifying when cases can proceed in theabsence of a defendant.

The Government will consider moreclosely the impact of these measures in reducing unnecessarydelay in the courts once its proposals to advance targetedcase management have been progressed.

The Governmentcarefully considered the report's recommendations andconsulted widely in the developing its response to thereport.

A copy of the Government response can be found onthe Justice Ministry's website at:http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/reports/index.html

ENDS
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