KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's system of tribunals needs a thorough overhaul, Law Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer says.
"There has been no system, no plan, no coherence," Sir Geoffrey said when he announced today that the commission was issuing a discussion paper on the subject.
"The public sometimes do not even know that a tribunal which might help them exists."
Sir Geoffrey said there were a large number of tribunals in New Zealand, set up in a random fashion over a long period.
Some, like the Disputes Tribunal and the Tenancy Tribunal, heard a lot of cases.
Others heard hardly any, and some might not even be needed.
"There is also inconsistency in the way they operate," he said.
"Their procedures differ without any sensible reason, and rights of appeal from them also differ.
"This can be confusing for people who bring cases to them."
Sir Geoffrey said another problem was that some tribunals were too closely linked to the agency from which they heard appeals.
"It is important that tribunals are perceived as being independent," he said.
"Justice must not only be done, it must be clearly seen to be done."
He was also concerned about the way tribunal members were appointed and trained.
"This is variable, and is not always satisfactory."
Sir Geoffrey said the commission was working with the Ministry of Justice on a project to review the system.
As part of this process, the discussion paper was being issued to set out the problems, summarise the way in which some other countries had dealt with similar problems and set out options for dealing with the issues.
- NZPA
