Specialist Courts and Tribunals

Filing trends have continued to decrease, with 396 cases filed in the 12 months ending 31 December 2013, which is 23% lower than the previous year.

The court disposal rates have remained consistent with 690 cases disposed of in the 12 months ending 31 December 2013, and 688 in the previous year. The disposal rate, in conjunction with the lower numbers of new business, has seen the number of active cases decrease from 806 at the end of December 2012 to 543 at the end of December 2013.

There has been a 13% decrease in referrals to the Coroner, with 5,265 referrals in the 12 months ending 31 December 2013, compared to 6,023 in the 12 months ending 31 December 2012.

There were 5,726 new cases filed in the court in the 12 months ending 31 December 2013. This is a decrease of 3%, compared to the previous year. Over the same period, the court increased its disposal rate by 5% to 6,325 cases, compared to 6,015 cases in the 12 months ending 31 December 2012.

The court pro-actively managed its aged case load, focussing on cases older than 12 months, which resulted in a higher disposal rate. This corresponded with a 12% decrease in cases on-hand, with 4,525 cases at the end of December 2013.

The Tenancy Tribunal accounts for 68% of new business in the tribunals and authorities administered by the Ministry of Justice (excluding Disputes Tribunal figures, which are reported separately).  New business has decreased by 9% with 21,100 applications lodged in the 12 months ending 31 December 2013, compared to 23,133 in the 12 months ending 31 December 2012.

The tribunal disposed 25,578 cases in the 12 months ending 31 December 2013, compared to 21,817 in the previous year.

The Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority represented 15% of new business for tribunals and authorities in the year ending 31 December 2013, compared to 17% in the 12 months ending 31 December 2012.

In the first three months of operation in 2011 there were over 11,000 applications for licences and certificates. This has slowed as expected, and in the 12 months ending 31 December 2013 there were only 4,733 applications; an 18% reduction compared to the same time last year, when there were 5,739 applications. The Authority has disposed 4,939 applications in the 12 months ending 31 December 2013, a decrease of 52% compared to the previous year.

The Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT) represented approximately 4% of the tribunals' and authorities’ new business in 2013. The IPT received 1,223 cases during the 12 months ending 31 December 2013, which represents a 5% decrease in cases received compared to the 12 months ending 31 December 2012. This is probably due to fewer residence applications being submitted to Immigration New Zealand in the 12 months ending 31 December 2013. A total of 1,371 cases were disposed during the 12 months ending 31 December 2013 and there are now 1,122 cases on hand.

Comparing 2013 to 2012, the Disputes Tribunal has seen:

• an 8% decrease in new claims to 15,410
• a 3% decrease in the disposals of claims to 15,875; and
• a 14% decrease in the number of active claims to 2,892.

There appears to have been a continued downward trend in Disputes Tribunal cases over the last two financial years. This is thought to be due to the economic climate, with less domestic consumer spending resulting in fewer consumer-related disputes.