Power to study European justice

Simon Power will look at Europe's inquisitorial justice systems as he moves to stop crime victims being

Justice Minister Simon Power is planning a trip to Europe in June to look at inquisitorial justice systems, where victims of child abuse or sexual violence are not exposed to "brutal" cross-examination.

It is another opportunity to look at the effectiveness of the criminal justice system as the Government goes about the biggest shake-up in the past "40 or 50 years", with plans to simplify the court process.

"I am not interested in tinkering. I am interested in fundamental reform," Mr Power said of the Simplification Project.

Details are yet to be finalised, but Mr Power hopes to visit Germany, Austria and maybe France.

"Historically we have always had an adversarial system which involved cross-examination.

"I am prepared to look at other models because something is not working in our system when some of these victims are re-brutalised as part of the process, particularly victims of sexual violence and child victims," Mr Power said.

"If an offence has clearly occurred against a very vulnerable party, why should their credibility be the subject of a brutal attack when their essential facts have been proven?"

One option was having the judge act as a fact-finder, which would protect the victim from cross-examination.

Experts say the current system deters women from coming forward. Only 9 to 12 per cent of the estimated number of sex offences are reported.

Criminal lawyer Todd Simmonds said the system should be maintained.

"There must be an ability to robustly test the credibility and reliability of the complainant. It is often only through that process that findings of fact can properly be made."

He said in cases where facts were accepted, there was no need for cross-examination.

The Government has already asked the Law Commission to look into inquisitorial systems and has proposed greater protection for rape victims in court, such as not having the victim's sexual history admitted to court without the consent of the judge.

It is another ingredient in the Government's review of the justice sector.

Last week, it introduced the first bill in its plans to speed up the court process.

The Courts (Remote Participation) Bill, which passed its first reading, will see the court decide when to use audio-visual links, except for sentencing.

"This bill means counsel and defendants, and even judges and juries, could appear by video link," Mr Power said.

"It costs about $138 a pop to transport someone from a prison to a court, and there are tens of thousands of those transactions a year. I saw an Australian judge in Sydney go through in an hour about 14 applications."

On average it takes 16 months for a case - from charge to the end of trial - to go through a district court, and 13 months in the High Court.

Auckland District Law Society president Anna Fitzgibbon said there were always issues of delays.

"If there are ways through technology or otherwise to improve efficiency, we see that as a good thing. But if it compromises the ability of somebody to properly represent themselves in court, that could be an issue."

Mr Power said legislation would be introduced this year for other aspects of the Simplification Project, including:

* The threshold for having jury trials.

* Guilty pleas being allowed to be entered as soon as possible.

* Unnecessary appearances that can be addressed out of court.