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Nick Toonen, the
Association's Chief Executive Officer, congratulates the Law Commission
on the second part of the review, titled Seeking Solutions: Options
for Change to the New Zealand Court System. "It has proposed
some very useful solutions to address a wide range of key issues,
particularly in relation to providing better services to Maori,
ethnic minorities, victims of crime and disabled people; better
access to the courts in terms of information, representation and
cost; and a closer look at court processes.
"As the Association
said in its submission on the first part of this important review,
courts are critical to a strong and safe society, so there must
not be any barriers to anyone's access to the courts and justice,
whether that be cost, language or any other factor. We would like
to see the Law Commission go further on some issues in this review.
"In its discussion
document the Law Commission comments that a new approach is needed
to improve the public's access to high quality legal information.
The Association has been concerned about people's access to government
information for some time now and urges the Commission to make this
a key action point.
"We also believe
victims of crime should have more privacy when giving evidence,
regardless of the nature of the crime. In sexual abuse trails, the
victim and the accused should be interviewed initially by the presiding
judge, not lawyers, to ensure that victims in particular are not
placed under any additional and undue stress.
"The Association
firmly believes that universal access to justice will only be possible
when courts can be accessed at no direct cost to the user. However
due to the financial implications this would pose to the Department
for Courts, we are pessimistic about how well the Department for
Courts can address the issue of cost. Therefore we strongly recommend
that the Law Commission takes a fresh look at the whole issue of
cost.
"In the meantime,
the Association supports the discussion document's suggestion of
the establishment of a "public defenders'" office of state-funded
lawyers. The Association also favours a state-funded community Alternative
Dispute Resolution service allowing mediation and arbitration for
a wide range of disputes."
Note to editors:
Citizens Advice Bureaux receive, on average, 73,000 enquiries each
year from a wide range of people relating to the court system. Of
these, 13,620 are requests for free legal advice, 4,158 are enquiries
about the courts and justice system (excluding the Disputes Tribunal),
3,318 relate to disputes requiring mediation (which is primarily
the Disputes Tribunal), 19,808 are referrals to community law centres
and lawyers and 8,285 are enquiries regarding lawyers and the law
society (which includes legal aid and duty solicitors).
The annual number
of enquiries relating to the court system has increased by more
than 59% since 1994.
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