NSW A-G Announces Courts Consultation Committee
Thursday 3 March 2016 @ 11.47 a.m. | Judiciary, Legal Profession & Procedure
NSW Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton has announced the creation of a new committee to advise her about the NSW judicial system. The “Courts Consultation Committee” will be chaired by the Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court, Tom Bathurst AC, and will meet regularly to discuss “a range of matters, including workload, time frames to deal with cases, budgeting and court security”.
In a media release, Ms Upton said:
“The Committee is long overdue and will harness the vast experience of members to deliver the best possible judicial system.”
Chief Justice Bathurst said the Committee would be “warmly welcomed” and that “[i]ts breadth of experience will provide considerable insight and assistance in the administration of justice in this State.”
According to the release, other members of the committee will include the Chief Judges from the District Court and the Land and Environment Court, the Chief Magistrate of the Local Court, was well as representatives from the Department of Justice, the legal profession and the community.
Concerns Previously Raised Over Court Backlog
The moves comes after concerns were raised last year about the NSW District Court backlog, According to a report released last year by acting NSW auditor-general Tony Whitfield, the backlog of criminal cases has almost doubled since 2011. The report found that the delay was costing NSW up to $60 million a year, with up to 8 per cent of the prison population being held on remand. It also contributed to greater prison overcrowding, with the average number of inmates in NSW between 2014-15 being 11,011, over its design capacity of 9829. The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that the report concluded this would have “unintended consequences”, including:
"unnecessary hardship for victims and the accused, undermining confidence in the justice system, increasing case costs and the risk of witnesses forgetting evidence or not being contactable.”
Soon after the report, the NSW Government announced a $20 million package aimed at slashing the District Court backlog. According to a media release from its announcement in December last year, the program was designed to “provide immediate relief” and included:
- Additional sittings for NSW District Court - extra criminal sitting weeks to be held in regional areas and Western Sydney through to June 2016.
- Targeted Trial Call-Over Courts - this will identify matters that can be resolved faster by an early guilty plea, allowing defended trials to be heard sooner.
- Pre-trial conferencing for long trials that last 20 days or more - prosecution and defence meeting prior to trial to ensure early resolution of criminal trials.
- Appointment of acting judges - appointing judges to hear more matters awaiting trial.
- Appointment of additional public defenders - appointing public defenders to ensure defended matters are dealt with faster.
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