Improving delivery of justice: Judicial committees and work programmes

Contents:

Heads of Bench Committee

The judiciary and the Ministry of Justice: Sharing responsibility for court administration

Support for the judicial branch of government

Judges, in addition to their core roles, are also directly involved with planning and delivering initiatives to improve the operation of the courts, access to justice, and the administration of justice. They do this through a range of judicial committees, supported by a small, dedicated team of staff.

Committees also enable the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice to give effect to their shared responsibilities as set out in the Statement of Principles. Some committees operate entirely on the judicial side of the partnership, while others are joint committees with the Ministry of Justice.

Throughout this report you will see the work of these committees reported under various initiatives. For a summary of the most significant committees and their 2023 achievements see Appendix 2.

Heads of Bench Committee

The Heads of Bench Committee is the key decision-making body for the judicial branch of government in relation to matters of judicial administration. Chaired by the Chief Justice, the committee is made up of the chief and principal judges of each of the courts and supported by senior judicial office officials. Its focus is to identify and support initiatives that enable the effective operation of the courts.

In August 2023 the Chief Justice invited the Principal Disputes Referee to join the Heads of Bench Committee. The Disputes Tribunal is a division of the District Court which enables low-cost access to civil justice.

Some areas the heads of bench oversee include:

• continuing education and development support for New Zealand judges and judicial officers
• judicial wellbeing
• the development of proposals to improve efficiency across the court system and input into transformative projects including Te Au Reka, Te Ao Mārama, the Digital Strategy for the Courts and Tribunals of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Rules Committee civil justice reforms
• the relationship with, and support provided to the courts by, the Ministry of Justice, and the development and delivery of a shared work programme with the Ministry spanning areas of common interest such as property, security, health and safety, and IT
• responding to the emerging issues of the day and any unforeseen events such as the impact of extreme weather on the operation of the courts.

The judiciary and the Ministry of Justice: Sharing responsibility for court administration

The judiciary and the Ministry of Justice share responsibility for the administration of the courts. The Ministry of Justice provides courthouses, staff, technology and all other operating systems necessary to support the operation of the courts. Although registry staff are employed by the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary is responsible for the direction and supervision of those staff in relation to the business of the courts.

The Ministry of Justice, as a core government department, is part of the executive branch of government, separate to the judicial branch of government. Maintaining this separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary is fundamental to our constitutional system. The basic framework and principles that underpin this mixed model of courts administration are set out in the Statement of Principles observed by the Judiciary and Ministry of Justice in the Administration of the Courts reproduced in Appendix 1.

This model must operate in a way that both supports the independence of the judiciary and ensures the best use of public funds to ensure the courts’ safe and effective operation.

The judiciary and Ministry take a partnership approach to planning for the courts. The Courts Strategic Partnership Group (CSPG) is the critical formal interface between the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary, providing a forum where senior judges and senior Ministry leaders work together with a commitment to building an effective partnership.

The CSPG has identified five priority areas to advance access to justice and the efficiency of the courts. The five focus areas and the projects that support them are as follows.

• Te Ao Mārama—an operating model for the District Court that draws together evidence- based justice practices already operating in solutions-focused courts in New Zealand and other jurisdictions. This year, the District Court released the Te Ao Mārama Best Practice Framework (see "Criminal justice" page.
• The Digital Strategy for Courts and Tribunals of Aotearoa New Zealand— launched in March, the Strategy sets out the judiciary’s objectives and guiding principles for use of technology in the courts, including digital case and court management, use of technology to enable remote attendance, and artificial intelligence (see "Planning for the future" page). The Ministry of Justice has agreed to report annually against the strategy’s objectives. The first report was provided in November.
• Te Au Reka—a digital system for case management and for creating and maintaining the court record and court files. Te Au Reka is an important first step in the modernisation of technology to support the court system. It will be first introduced in the Family Court (currently estimated for the 2025/2026 financial year). (See "Planning for the future" page).
• Innovative courthouses—The Innovative Courts building programme aims to ensure that new facilities better serve the needs of New Zealand today and in the future, providing safe spaces for those who come into the courthouse and those who work there. It is intended that these new facilities enable work to be done efficiently and provide space for the community and government agencies who support the work of the courts. Designs for new court buildings in both Tauranga Moana and Whanganui are in development. These projects are overseen by the Innovative Court Design Portfolio Advisory Board whose members include the Chief Victims Advisor.
• Access to justice and reform of the civil jurisdiction. Projects include:
  • Rules Committee: Response to the Improving Access to Civil Justice report
  • Wayfinding for Civil Justice Strategy
  • Access to Justice Legal Needs Survey
  • Expressed Legal Need in Aotearoa: From Problems to Solutions report
  • Interpreters service development.

These projects are described in more detail on the "Delivering timely and accessible justice" page.

Support for the judicial branch of government

Two offices provide institutional support to the heads of bench to enable the judiciary to function as an independent branch of government—the Office of the Chief Justice | Te Tari Toko i te Tumu Whakawā and the Office of the Chief District Court Judge | Te Whare o Ngā Kaihautū o te Waka o Te Kōti-ā-Rohe.

The Office of the Chief Justice (Te Tari) ensures the systems and supports are in place to enable judges of the senior courts to perform their judicial duties. Almost three-quarters of the staff of Te Tari work in courthouses, directly supporting senior court judges in their judicial work (judicial research clerks, and associates who provide administrative assistance). The balance of Te Tari personnel provide independent advisory, legal, governance, administrative, educational, communications and operational support for:

• the Chief Justice, as the head of the judiciary, of the Supreme Court, and in her capacity as Chief Justice of Tokelau;
• the President of the Court of Appeal and the Chief High Court Judge, in the operation of their respective courts;
• all heads of bench in the unified administration of the judicial branch of government (primarily via the Heads of Bench Committee);
• all judges and judicial officers of New Zealand’s courts, through the provision of administrative systems;
• all judges through the development of bench books and the ongoing training and education programmes delivered by the Te Kura Kaiwhakawā | Institute of Judicial Studies (see "The judges" page); and
• judges and judicial officers throughout the Pacific, through the Pacific Justice Sector Programme (see "Pacific and international engagement" page).

The Office of the Chief District Court Judge provides administrative, advisory, operational and strategic support to the District Court Judicial Leadership Team—which is made up of the Chief District Court Judge, the Principal Youth Court Judge, the Principal Family Court Judge and the National Executive Judge. This support assists them to lead their benches and undertake their statutory and non-statutory functions for the administration of the District Court to deliver timely, impartial and open justice.

Both offices put forward the views of the judiciary and advance judicial priorities and initiatives with the Ministry of Justice and other government agencies that support the courts as required.