Range of court services being extended in Canterbury

File photo / Bay of Plenty Times

The Ministry of Justice is extending its range of court and justice services in Christchurch after more temporary premises were found.

Riccarton Racecourse buildings have been hired and will be used for the full range of Family Court and civil hearings from April 11.

The Racecourse premises will be used as a multi-jurisdiction facility, where Family Court hearings, Disputes and Tenancy Tribunal hearings and Environment and Employment Court matters can be heard.

Deputy Secretary Courts Andrew Hampton said a number of possible locations to hold a low-risk criminal list court were being investigated. High-priority arrest and sentencing matters were continuing to being dealt with at Rangiora District Court.

The ministry was continuing to look for suitable interim space where Youth Court hearings could take place.

Mr Hampton said the ministry was working with the judiciary and the legal profession to ensure that maximum use could be made of the temporary locations.

"Fixtures will only be scheduled after a realistic assessment of how ready each party to the case is to proceed - including the lawyers, the mediators and the applicants," he said.

"It is important to determine which location is most suitable for each fixture, and the ministry has dedicated staff now working on this scheduling of cases across all jurisdictions and all sites. They are working to make best use of the space available."

Since the February 22 6.3 magnitude earthquake the following urgent criminal matters have been heard:

* 323 arrests have been dealt with at Rangiora District Court and the central police station;

* 204 custodial remands have been heard at Christchurch Men's Prison;

* 35 defendants have been sentenced;

* 20 Youth Court hearings have been heard at Rangiora District Court; and

* 20 Christchurch youth drug court matters were heard last week.

In the Family Court, 86 applications had been filed and dealt with since the earthquake, about 95 per cent of which were urgent applications.

- NZPA