Limiting the evidence in chief to be given by disallowing evidence that is inadmissible or repetitious, or imposing a limit on the number of witness who may be called to prove a particular fact in issue. Prescribing the order of trial, the length of submissions, and any requirements of the court which may include a requirement that each party provide a concise statement at the end of the case of the findings of fact sought from the court. It is important, if this system is to succeed, that there should be a high level of cooperation between the court and the parties and their advisers and as between the parties. The merit of the system and its ultimate adoption must depend upon its yielding, and being perceived to yield, measurable benefits to litigants in terms of the total costs of the litigation. The input of counsel and advocates will be valued.
Attention is drawn to further explanatory notes appended.
Templates for the memorandum are not reproduced here, but are available free of charge from the Chief Judge's assistant at the Wellington Registry, email Judy. The aim of the present initiative is to develop a more efficient management of hearings of extreme or moderate length. The problems that it is sought to address are not peculiar to employment law but have, in recent decades, affected all civil litigation. Recent years have, however, also seen some extremely long employment cases. At the upper end of the scale are two cases that have each taken 10 weeks to hear but more numerous examples can be found of cases taking two, three, or four weeks of the court s time.