Collins Judith: Judicature Modernisation Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCollins Judith: Judicature Modernisation Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 05 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15299. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice): I moveThat the Judicature Modernisation Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice and Electoral Committee to consider the bill. A well-functioning justice system is an essential part of any healthy democracy. Society and technology are changing rapidly and it is increasingly clear that we now have a 20th century court system that should be modernised to deliver in the 21st—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Order! Can we have some courtesy please.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: —century world. We live in an era when people can shop bank and pay bills online and it is about time we looked at how routine court matters can be handled more efficiently to bring justice up to speed. This bill will help modernise our court system by increasing the transparency of court arrangements and streamlining processes and procedures. This will make the courts more efficient while maintaining public confidence in our justice system.The bill implements the Government’s response to the Law Commission’s review of the Judicature Act 1908. It contains six parts five of which will result in new Acts. Part 1 repeals the Supreme Court Act 2003 and the Judicature Act 1908 and it will replace them with a single Senior Courts Act. This Act will set out the constitution and jurisdiction of the High Court Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in modern and easier to understand language—[Interruption]The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Order! I should not have to ask twice. Can I just say to members leaving the Chamber to please show some courtesy to the member who is trying to address the business of the House. It is good conduct and it is being considerate of others. Thank you.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: —thank you Mr Assistant Speaker—than that in the 1908 Act. The bill improves judicial transparency by requiring final written judgments to be published online. It also requires the judiciary to publish information about the delivery of reserved judgments and to publish guidance on judicialrecusal from cases and when it is appropriate for a judge to hold other employment or office. The Attorney-General will also be required to publish the process he or she follows when making judicial appointments.The High Court will gain more effective powers to deal withmeritless court proceedings brought by parties. The High Court will be able to issue three progressively stronger orders limiting parties from continuing or commencing civil proceedings. Similar powers will be granted to the lower courts to make less restrictive orders. This provides greater flexibility for dealing with problem litigants. I expect this to better target the small group of people who use up valuable court resources to pursuemeritless proceedings time and time again.The bill will allow for the establishment of a specialised judicial panel in the High Court for commercial matters. This will increase the responsiveness of the court system and its focus on court users. A panel judge may be allocated to hear a commercial case if either party wishes this to occur. Judicial independence will be maintained through judicial control of case allocation and judge assignment to the panel.Part 2 of the bill repeals and replaces the District Courts Act 1947. The District Court will be constituted as a unified body just like the High Court is rather than as 59 separate courts as it is today. Having District Courts as separate entities is outdated and reflects an age when towns were physically more difficult to travel between than they are today.We are also proposing to increase the monetary limit at which civil claims can be brought before the District Court from $200000 to $350000. This has not been updated since 1992 and it will provide more choice for litigants as to whether the District Court or the High Court is the most appropriate forum for their case. The bill amends provisions applying to the District Court so that they are more closely aligned with like arrangements in the senior and other courts including for example appointment panels and age limits for acting judges and the various requirements on the judiciary to publish information and guidance.Part 3 of the bill enacts the Judicature Amendment Act 1972 as a stand-alone Act the Judicial Review Procedure Act. The new Act will continue the existing process and procedure for judicial review applications but expresses this in updated language. Part 4 introduces a single statutory scheme the Interest on Money Claims Act for the award of interest on financial claims before the court. I expect the scheme will provide greater certainty and fairness for court users. This in turn will improve the efficiency of litigation by encouraging cases to settle more expeditiously.Part 5 of the bill will greatly assist courts to move into the 21st century by allowing the use of electronic processes. At the moment many court activities such as the filing of documents can be legally performed using paper-based formats only. Legislation has not anticipated more modern ways of working. This change will help remedy that deficiency.The last part of the bill makes amendments to a number of Acts. It strengthens the presumption for the use of audiovisual links in court so that remand prisoners are more likely to appear before a judge without all the upheaval of travelling to court. This will increase the uptake of audiovisual technology promoting more efficient use of the courts’ and parties’ resources.Finally several small amendments are made to the Arbitration Act 1996. These extend which bodies can appoint an arbitrator when parties fail to agree on an arbitrator. It recognises the use of emergency arbitration procedures to provide interim relief prior to the full arbitration.The Judicature Modernisation Bill is the culmination of a considerable amount of work. I acknowledge the Law Commission for its work on reviewing the Judicature Act and associated legislation. I would like to thank the judiciary for its valuable input. I would also like to thank the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Justice staff who worked so hard on this. I look forward to the results of the select committee’s examination of the bill. The changes to this bill will play an important part in improving the efficiency accessibility and day-to-day functioning of New Zealand’s courts. I commend this bill to the House.