Page 1434 - Week 05 - Thursday, 13 May 1993
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The discussion paper flags some issues which warrant consideration in this reform process. One of these issues is case flow management. At the moment, the responsibility for advancing court matters is left largely in the hands of solicitors. This arrangement leaves room for abusing the system and provides very little incentive to progress matters quickly. Case flow management seeks to control more strictly those procedural areas which are prone to abuse and delay. The court, rather than the solicitor, enforces deadlines. The ACT Magistrates Court has recently implemented various case flow management procedures. The committee has indicated that it is very interested in these innovations and may consider recommending that a similar system be adopted by the Supreme Court.
The paper also considers the role of computer technology in court procedures. In the course of adopting case flow management, the Magistrates Court is in the process of installing a new computerised case flow management system. This will allow the court to monitor the progress of cases quickly and easily. Computers could also play a vital role in increasing accessibility to courts by providing up-to-date legal information. Expert computer systems could provide laypeople with an easy to follow guide to the rules of court. The forms and documents prescribed by the rules could also be put on computer. The committee will also be considering an increased role for alternative decision making processes. This would place more emphasis, where appropriate, on mediation, conciliation and arbitration and would reduce the costs and delays in legal disputes in some cases.
The discussion paper explains the need for reform of these rules and options for change in everyday language, making these issues more accessible to ordinary people. I must stress that this paper represents only the preliminary stages of the reform process. Experience in other jurisdictions has shown that reform of court processes is difficult and time consuming. However, commitment to access to justice principles demands that the causes of delay, excess cost and limited access to justice must be addressed.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION REPORT ON
GENERAL RELATIVITIES
Ministerial Statement
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I ask for leave of the Assembly to make a ministerial statement on the response to, and implications of, the Commonwealth Grants Commission's report on general relativities 1993.
Leave granted.
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, this statement outlines the implications of, and the Government's response to, the Commonwealth Grants Commission's report on general revenue grant relativities 1993. The commission presented its report to the Commonwealth Minister for the Arts and Administrative Services on 31 March 1993.
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