Judgment delivery expectations

Reserved judgments

All judges aim to deliver decisions as promptly as possible. The judges of the High Court expect that 90% of decisions will be delivered within three (3) months of the last day of hearing or receipt of the last submission. This period does not include court vacations. On occasion a judge may advise the parties at the hearing that the judgment will take longer than three months to deliver due to the complexity of the case or other pressing matters of court business.

Recent performance:

2023

High Court judgment delivery statistics for the 12 months ending 31 December 2023 [1]

The table below shows the percentage of judgments delivered in the High Court for the 12 months ending 31 December 2023 within the 1 month and 3 months timeframes, as well as the total number of judgments delivered.

Jurisdiction	<= 1 Month	<= 3 Months	Total number of Judgments
Civil	76.3%	91.4%	2057
Criminal	94.0%	98.7%	1825
Total			3882

2022

High Court judgment delivery statistics for the 12 months ending 31 December 2022 [1]

The table below shows the percentage of judgments delivered in the High Court for the 12 months ending 31 December 2022 within the 1 month and 3 months timeframes, as well as the total number of judgments delivered.

Jurisdiction	<= 1 Month	<= 3 Months	Total number of Judgments
Civil	73.0%	91.0%	1888
Criminal	95.3%	99.0%	1695
Total			3583

2021

High Court judgment delivery statistics for the 12 months ending 31 December 2021 [1]

The table below shows the percentage of judgments delivered in the High Court for the 12 months ending 31 December 2021 within the 1 month and 3 months timeframes, as well as the total number of judgments delivered.

Jurisdiction	<= 1 Month	<= 3 Months	Total number of Judgments
Civil	76.3%	91.6%	1956
Criminal	95.5%	99.1%	1637
Total			3591

2020

High Court judgment delivery statistics for the 12 months ending 31 December 2020 [1]

The table below shows the percentage of judgments delivered in the High Court for the 12 months ending 31 December 2020 within the 1 month and 3 months timeframes, as well as the total number of judgments delivered.

Jurisdiction	<= 1 Month	<= 3 Months	Total number of Judgments
Civil	78.5%	93.3%	2013
Criminal	96.1%	99.2%	1505
Total			3518

Inquiry about the status of reserved judgments

Where a litigant or a lawyer is concerned about a delay in the delivery of a reserved judgment in a case in which they have an interest, they may make an inquiry to the court manager of the court where the matter was heard.

The following details should be included in the inquiry

1. the name of the proceedings and the case number
2. the inquirer’s role in the proceedings (eg plaintiff/defendant; legal representative for the first plaintiff/second defendant)
3. the date on which the judge reserved judgment

The court manager will make an inquiry as to the likely delivery time and respond to the inquiry in writing. The court manager will ordinarily be able to advise the inquirer when the judge believes the reserved judgment will be able to be released. The court manager will also advise other parties to the proceedings of any expected date of delivery.

The inquirer’s identity will not be revealed to the judge.

Delayed judgments report

The Chief High Court Judge periodically publishes information about the number of judgments considered to be outstanding beyond a reasonable time for delivery in accordance with section 170(1)(b) of the Senior Courts Act 2016.

The Chief High Court Judge has determined that any judgment that is not delivered within six (6) months of the last day of hearing or receipt of the last submission is outstanding beyond a reasonable time unless extenuating circumstances, making a delay beyond six months not unreasonable, apply. Court vacations are excluded from the six month period.

Report as at 30 September 2023 (6-month period)

As at 30 September 2023, the number of judgments outstanding beyond a reasonable time was: 11.

As at 31 March 2023, the number of judgments outstanding beyond a reasonable time was: 6.

During the period from 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023, 17 judgments became outstanding beyond a reasonable time. Of the judgments that were outstanding beyond a reasonable time or became outstanding, 12 judgments were delivered by 30 September 2023.

During the period from 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023, the High Court delivered 2021 judgments in total. During the period from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, the High Court delivered 1798 judgments in total. The total judgments delivered for the year 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023 was 3819.

Report as at 31 March 2023 (6-month period)

As at 31 March 2023, the number of judgments outstanding beyond a reasonable time was: 6.

As at 30 September 2022, the number of judgments outstanding beyond a reasonable time was: 10. During the period from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, 22 judgments became outstanding beyond a reasonable time. Of the judgments that were outstanding beyond a reasonable time or became outstanding, 26 judgments were delivered by 31 March 2023.

During the period from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, the High Court delivered 1798 judgments in total.

Previous judgment delivery statistics

2012 - 2019 High Court judgment delivery statistics

Delayed judgments reports covering 6 month periods from 1 October 2017 - 30 September 2022

[1] Notes and definitions

The source of the above data is the court’s citation database
A judgment is classified as a decision that receives a citation from citation database. It excludes: minutes, undefended summary judgments, judgments on undefended insolvency applications, judgments by default etc.
Judgments that are delivered within one month include judgments made on the papers.