Ministry of Justice extends videoconferencing
5 October 2006
Court use of videoconferencing is being extended during 2006/07 and will include civil list work done by Associate Judges.
Videoconferencing equipment has been introduced into a small number of court sites so that the benefits of use of the technology can be formally assessed and a set of technical standards can be developed and tested.
Andrew Hampton, General Manager Higher Courts, said that "some benefits will be realised immediately for relevant courts but the main focus is on building a solid foundation for wider implementation in the future."
Videoconferencing equipment has been installed into five court sites; in Auckland, Christchurch, Greymouth, Invercargill and Wellington.
The implementation will initially target two new uses of videoconferencing:
- Civil list work done by Associate Judges. This will involve parties assembling at the registry where the proceedings were filed (e.g. at the geographically remote Invercargill Office) and an Associate Judge appearing remotely by video link from another registry (e.g. from Christchurch, where an associate judge is ordinarily resident).
- Applications for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. In this case, one or more parties and Counsel would assemble at a High Court registry (e.g. in Auckland) and relevant judges would appeal remotely by video from the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court in Wellington.
"Allowing Associate Judge list work to be done by video link will mean that urgent matters can be dealt with as required and cases can be disposed of more economically," said Mr Hampton.
Other court sites are likely to feature in the limited implementation during 2006/07 but will use leased equipment on a hearing-by-hearing basis. Potentially, these sites could include, Blenheim, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Timaru and Wanganui.
