The chief justice stressed the need for a balanced use of technology within the judiciary
The judiciary’s new digital strategy for courts and tribunals includes protocols for the use of remote participation in hearings in the civil jurisdictions of the High Court and District Court, as well as in the Family Court.
Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann announced the strategy’s release in a media statement. According to her, the judiciary can use technology to:
However, she stressed that the courts’ use of technology should be in line with the human quality of New Zealand’s justice system. She said that the digital strategy explains how to strike a proper balance.
Winkelmann said that one initiative highly prioritised by the courts is the implementation of a high-quality, reliable, and flexible remote participation system. This initiative will involve investment in remote participation infrastructure and an improvement of the processes for using remote participation, she said.
According to Winkelmann, the new remote participation protocols seek to advance this high- priority initiative in two ways.
First, the protocols give guidance on the times when using remote participation will likely be appropriate, on the default settings for using remote participation for certain hearing types, and the instances when the courts will likely consider departing from these default settings.
This guidance aims to make the use of remote participation more consistent and predictable, to improve efficiency in the court system, and to benefit court users planning or preparing for a hearing, Winkelmann said in the media statement.
She noted that judges have the last say on decisions involving the conduct of hearings in their courts, including whether to resort to remote participation technology.
Second, the protocols will cover the circumstances in which courts will likely use remote participation, based on current legislative settings. This seeks to boost the confidence of sector agencies planning for the infrastructure investment mentioned in the new digital strategy, as well as the confidence of the justice system in general, Winkelmann explained.
“It is likely that over time, as the necessary investment in remote participation technology and facilities is made by the Ministry of Justice and other justice sector agencies, the public and the courts will have increased confidence that greater use of remote participation is practically workable and consistent with the interests of justice,” Winkelmann said in the media statement.
She noted that the courts will be actively reviewing the implementation of the remote participation protocols and will potentially amend them to add settings for work done remotely by default in civil and family jurisdictions.
Winkelmann also mentioned a consultation on draft criminal hearings protocols for the High Court and District Court. The judiciary has plans to host a webinar to share with the legal profession any insights on using remote technology in criminal proceedings, Winkelmann said.
