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2020 - 2021 Response to Initial Consultation

Judicial subcommittee on improving access to civil justice

At its 21 September 2020 meeting, the Committee agreed to establish a subcommittee to consider the submissions received and report back to the full Committee with a proposed response to the submissions made to the initial consultation process. 

The subcommittee was comprised of:

  • the Right Honourable Dame Helen Winkelmann, Chief Justice;
  • the Honourable Justice Kós, President of the Court of Appeal;
  • the Honourable Justice Thomas, Chief High Court Judge;
  • His Honour Judge Taumaunu, Chief District Court Judge;
  • the Honourable Justice Cooke; and
  • His Honour Judge Kellar. 

The Clerk to the Commitee provided secretarial and research support to the subcommittee.  

Having fully disgested the submissions received, the subcommittee prepared an executive summary of the submissions received to aid its discussions.

The subcommitee met in October and November 2020, and February 2021.  As discussed above, the subcommittee reported back to the full committee with a proposed response to the submissions to the initial consultation paper in late March 2021.

Submissions to initial consultation process

Submissions on the Committee's initial consultation paper closed on 11 September 2020.  The Comittee received over forty submissions from a range of practitioners, academics, community organisations, and other court users.  These submissions ran to over 400 pages in length, and addressed the technical proposals set out in the Committee's consultation papers, alternative suggestions for improving access to civil justice, and broader themes of the barriers members of the community face in coming to court.

The Committee is very grateful to all submitters, and is especially grateful for the time and energy that each submission represents.  Particularly given the consultation period coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated disruptions, the Committee is deeply appreciative of the significant investment of resources making a submission represents. 

The judicial subcommittee on access to civil justice has had prepared an executive summary of the many submissions received in order to assist in determining how to respond to the submissions and what proposals to advance.  

Please find most of the inividual submissions received in response to the Committee's initial consultation papers here.