The Courts Committee has practitioners from Civil and Criminal Bar.Monthly meetings are held although, of course, matters can be discussed as and when required. Members are assigned to specific tasks to deal with issues raised by practitioners who seek the Committees input – working within the Guidelines set by ADLS.

The committees purpose is to identify and discuss issues and bring these to the attention of the relevant bodies eg the Courts, the Judiciary Select Committee etc and also to make recommendations. In addition it also aims to promote the fair and proper administration of justice – and promote and ensure access to justice.

The work of the Courts Committee is diverse. This Committee continues to liaise with the Ministry of Justice over many relevant issues. There have been a number of notices placed in Law News seeking to inform practitioners – for example on the issue of confidentiality at judicial settlement conferences. Other such notices have sought feedback – such as the impact of the 2004 amendment to the High Court Discovery Rules. It is also to be noted that the Courts Committee has made various comment on such important matters as:
· Proposed District Court Rules
· Proposed new High Court Rules and
· Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers – both written and oral submissions on the discussion paper produced by NZLS.

The Committee also continues to be in close contact with the Auckland High Court and Dis-trict Courts through the various stakeholder committee meetings. One matter that has been the focus of a number of Committee meetings was the actual physical condition of the Auck-land District Court. One of the members of the Committee prepared a comprehensive report on the condition of the Court and copies of the report along with photos provided the basis by which the Auckland District Law Society Council could communicate directly with the Ministry of Justice- one of a number of issues relating to the Ministry’ “Greater Auckland Service De-livery Strategy”.

Input from Profession:
We encourage fellow members to channel their concerns through the Secretary for the Committee (details contained on the website) or the Convenor for the Committee (details on the website) or fellow Committee members.

Click here to view Courts committee members

Click here to view Courts 2007/08 Annual Report

Download the Courts Committee submissions dated 10 April 2003 on the Supreme Court Bill (in pdf format).