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New positions are being created to help speed proceedings at Family Courts.
Senior registrars would take over some of the administrative work of judges and non-contentious judicial work, Principal Family Court Judge Peter Boshier told a public law seminar in Wellington today.
He said traditionally courts had not been tailored for speedy disposition.
"The issue of delay is much more pressing for the Family Court than for some other jurisdictions, where delay may not have the same heavy personal cost.
"For many users of the Family Court, from young children to older infirmed people in need of protection, or mentally ill persons who are sought to be detained while they are being assessed, or parents who disagree on child care; delay in having a case addressed can have severe personal consequences."
Another area where the Family Court had to act promptly was in the international abduction of children.
"The Hague Convention on child abduction forms part of our domestic law and the Care of Children Act requires that such return applications be dealt with within six weeks unless there is explicable reason.
He said registrars already assisted by granting dissolutions of marriage.
The new senior registrars could take over pre-trial conferences, and could make interim and final orders.
He said the move to minimise delays by encouraging mediation by specialist mediators reinforced the "distinction between the decision-making work of the judiciary and the conciliatory attitude of mediation."
With a reduced administrative workload judges could turn their early attention to legally complex cases focussing on delivery prompt justice.
- NZPA
