Justice system under considerable stress, Chief Justice says

The Chief Justice says the country's justice system is under considerable stress as she releases her yearly report into the judiciary.

The Annual Report looks to aid the public's understanding of the court system and open it to scrutiny.

In the report, Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann said delays in courts due to a lack of resources, a lack of lawyers offering their services to legal aid, and access to justice were all a focus for the judiciary.

There had been a rise in the number of trials for the most serious offending like murder, manslaughter, and attempted murder which now took up 76 percent of all new criminal trials in the High Court.

Although, the report mentioned this did not mean the overall number of criminal trials "in hand" in the Court was higher, and noted it had in fact reduced in 2024 from 162 to 155

The report said there was a general trend towards criminal trials becoming longer and more complex.

The average number of days per trial rose to a historic high at 17.17 days, which was an 18 percent increase compared to 2021, when the average was 14.4 days per trial.

This was due to a rise in the number of multiple-defendant trials, an increase in the evidence submitted that must then be tested in court, and an increased number of charges for each defendant, the report said.

There had also been a sharp increase in the number of company liquidations and insolvency proceedings it said, with the number of insolvency hearings alone increasing by 36 percent compared to 2023.

"There is too much delay in the High Court's civil jurisdiction," the report said.

"As in the criminal jurisdictions, trials are becoming more complex and getting longer. In addition, criminal proceedings are given priority over civil because in the High Court criminal trials often involve a defendant in custody."

Winkelmann said the country ranked sixth out of 142 on the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index, and was in the minority of countries where the rule of law did not weaken in the year from 1 January to 31 December 2024.

"The rule of law has recently been in the news a great deal, because of concerns that in some countries it is under attack," Winkelmann said.

"The World Justice Project, an organisation dedicated to monitoring and advancing the rule of law globally, reports that between 2023 and 2024 the rule of law was indeed weakened in a majority of countries."

The project's report described the continuation of global authoritarian trends, with executive power less likely to be constrained by courts, legislature, or centres of institutional power, she said.

"We are in the minority of countries in which the rule of law did not weaken in the year measured. Even so, New Zealand cannot afford to be complacent. As world events show, the rule of law is a fragile thing."

Winkelmann highlighted a number of key points in her report, such as access to the justice and the work being done to increase accessibility for people with disabilities, the importance of which was emphasised by The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care.

"The judiciary is keenly aware of the impacts of delay," the report said.

"Addressing the causes of delay is a priority. Delay in court proceedings is a problem that affects individuals before the courts and those awaiting court determinations or decisions. It also impacts on the public perception of the judicial system and the legitimacy of the courts."

A shortage of key personnel like police prosecutors, defence counsel, and psychologists impacted how quickly trials and sentencings were started and finished in parts of the country, it said.

In the year ended 2024, 4175 prisoners were awaiting trial or sentencing, more than 200 prisoners than the year prior (3930 prisoners in 2023).

The report said some delays were caused by systemic issues, while others were tied to resource constraints like the number of courtrooms available.

Winkelmann described the planning done by the judiciary to use AI tools and manage the impact AI had for the work of the courts.

A serious concern was lawyers choosing not to offer their services through the legal aid system, Winkelmann said.

"Inability to access legal representation is a barrier to accessing justice," the report said.

"It is therefore of concern to the judiciary that the legal profession is reporting that it is under significant stress."

The report said the eligibility thresholds for those who required legal representation were set unacceptably low, which meant many who couldn't afford to pay for legal advice were still not eligible for legal aid.

"For the lawyers willing to do legal aid work, [Chief Justice Winkelmann] has pointed to the inadequacy of pay rates, and the cumbersome administrative burden that the current system places on people," it said.

At a media conference in the High Court at Auckland, Winkelmann told reporters they were hoping to use technology to improve judiciary services.

She spoke about Te Au Reka, a digital case management system that was expected to be rolled out next year in the Family Court.

"Until very recently, all court business has been conducted in a purely paper based way," she said.

"Today you can file documents digitally in, say, the High Court, but the court has to print those documents out because our record is still paper based."

Winkelmann said this was the result of under investment, and hoped Te Au Reka would simplify the system.

She was asked about comments made by government ministers, criticising the judiciary.

Last year, Shane Jones came under fire for comments he made about the courts.

Winkelmann would not say the judiciary was under attack.

"Judges always have to accept that their decisions are open to criticism," she said.

"So criticising the decision is not an attack on judicial independence, but comity requires that criticisms of judgements be expressed in moderate terms, and not impune the good faith or independence of the judiciary, and certainly not include any derogatory language."

Winkelmann said any attack on judicial independence that stepped over that mark was of concern to her.

"It is my key role to look after the strength of the judiciary as an institution, and its independence is an absolutely fundamental aspect of the strength of the judiciary," Winkelmann said.

"If the judiciary is not seen to be independent then it looses all credibility, we call it legitimacy, with the public."

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