Power: Justice shake-up biggest in 50 years

National's justice spokesman Simon Power. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A new bill set to bring the biggest change to the justice system in 50 years is likely to result in savings of 450 court days each year, says Justice Minister Simon Power.

Cabinet today signed off the 526-page Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill, which will carve through a range of processes and has been designed to free up thousands of hours of court time.

"It's unacceptable that there are at least 43,000 unnecessary court appearances each year, and that it takes an average of 16 months to complete a jury trial in the High Court and 12 months in the District Court," Mr Power said.

Significant proposals in the bill include:

* requiring the defence to identify and disclose issues in dispute before a trial;

* allowing courts to proceed in the absence of a defendant if the court is not satisfied he or she has a reasonable excuse for their absence;

* allowing greater flexibility to continue with a trial when jury numbers fall to 10;

* requiring the court to take into account a defendant's compliance with procedural matters as a mitigating or aggravating factor at sentencing;

* promoting out of court discussions between parties so there are fewer adjournments and shorter hearings;

* reserving jury trials for the most serious and complex cases, including raising the threshold for which defendants can elect for a jury trial;

Mr Power said the changes could potentially result in 43,000 fewer court events, 1000 to 1400 fewer cases that need to be designated for trial by jury, 300 to 600 fewer cases that actually proceed to a jury trial, and could shave about 13 weeks off the time it took for a jury trial case to go through the pipeline.

The changes were expected to result in savings of about $24.3 million over a five-year period.

"I'm a strong believer that justice delayed is justice denied, and this bill will ensure that timely justice is delivered for victims, witnesses, defendants, and the community," Mr Power said.

"The key legislation currently in place dates back to the 1950s and has been subject to years of ad hoc reform."

He said addressing the clogged system by building more courthouses and appointing more judges was simply masking delays and inefficiencies in criminal procedure.

- NZPA