Specialist Courts and Tribunals

Employment Court

There were 183 new cases filed with the Employment Court in 2012, slightly (12.27%) higher than the 163 cases filed in 2011. The disposal rate of cases continues to increase with 228 having been cleared in the past 12 months. The number of active cases on hand has decreased in the past 12 months from 171 to 165 at the end of December 2012.

Environment Court

Filing trends remain consistent with recent years in the Environment Court, with 514 cases filed in 2012. This figure is slightly higher (1%) than the 499 cases filed in 2011, but is still low overall and reflects the decline in resource consent applications to councils. 688 cases were disposed in 2012, with the number of active cases on hand decreasing from 935 in 2011 to 806 in 2012.

Coronial Services

Referrals to the Coroner have increased (3.22%), with 5,835 received in 2011 compared to 6,023 in 2012. The number of cases disposed was 5,902 at the end of December 2012.

Māori Land Court

Lodged cases were at a similar level at the end of 2012 with 5,891 new applications. A slight (2%) decrease can be seen when compared with the same period in 2011 where 5,987 cases were lodged. There has also been an increase in disposed applications, with 6,015 cases disposed in 2012.

Tribunals Unit

Tribunals & Authorities had received 34,720 applications in 2012, with 34,123 being disposed in the same year. Note that these figures do not include the Disputes Tribunal as these are reported by the District Court. The number of active cases on hand was 6,456 at the end of December 2012.

The Tenancy Tribunal accounts for 67% of new business and has seen a slight increase of cases received (2%) in 2012. With 23,133 lodged at December 2012, compared with 21,801 for the same period in 2011, it’s likely the increase is due to a rise in the number of unit titles cases, following the passage of the Unit Titles Act in June 2011.

The Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority represents 17% of new business in 2012, with 5,739 new applications having been made, compared to 8733 in 2011. The reduction (66%) in new applications was anticipated as the Authority was established in 2011 and all businesses and people working in the security industry had to apply to be licensed during that year. In 2012 the workload reduced to expected standard levels.

The Immigration and Protection Tribunal represented 4% of new business. During 2012 the number of cases received by the tribunal was 1,297; slightly (2%) lower than 1,398 filed in 2011.

Disputes Tribunal

Compared to 2011, 2012 has seen a

• 1% increase in new and reactivated claims to 16,719
• 7% decrease in the disposals of claims to 16,395
• 14% increase in the number of active claims to 3,303

Statistics