Removal of depositions speeding up court process, says Minister

THE REMOVAL of depositions hearings in courts has had positive impacts for court users, said Justice Minister Simon Power on 11 April. The change to the committal process took effect on June 29 last year, and was designed to improve efficiency and fairness in the criminal justice system. The reforms meant that rather than cases automatically progressing to a depositions hearing where evidence is heard orally, committal for trial is now determined on the basis of written statements, unless a successful application for oral evidence is made.

This has occurred in only three per cent of cases since the law came into effect, said Power. “The law change has resulted in an average of six weeks being cut from the time it takes from the day charges are laid to when a case is committed for trial. Previously, it took about 100 days for committal to trial – it’s now around 60.”

In 2008/09, only 14 per cent of cases in the High Court were committed to trial within three months. This year, that figure has risen to 47 per cent.

“This means that in most cases, evidence is now being given only once, sparing victims from being re-victimised by having to give evidence at depositions and again at trial,” said Power. “It’s too soon to predict the full effect of removing depositions on the overall length of a trial, but I’m encouraged by the early results. I recognise that in the short-term the removal of depositions has resulted in an increase in the number of active jury trials. However, this is in line with forecasts and is expected to eventually level out. Furthermore, many cases are still expected to be resolved before their scheduled trial date.”

Power added that the Government is continuing work on the Criminal Procedure Simplification Project, which is designed to speed up the process to deliver timely justice to victims, witnesses, defendants, and the community.

NZLawyer, 16 April 2010