Planning for the future – ensuring court technologies support access to justice

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The Chief Justice and heads of bench have a responsibility to ensure that New Zealand’s justice system remains fit for purpose and that future courts are equipped to serve their evolving communities, and for ensuring just outcomes for all participants in court proceedings.

Using technology wisely to support this goal is essential. Technology has the potential to be transformative by better enabling access to the courts and reducing the cost and complexity of proceedings. However, its use must be consistent with fair process, and with a justice system run by and for people.

This section describes the work the judiciary and others are undertaking to ensure a modern and responsive court system that will work for all the people of New Zealand, now and in the future.

A progress report on the priority technological initiatives for the court

The Digital Strategy for the Courts and Tribunals of Aotearoa New Zealand (the Digital Strategy), released in 2023, identified priority initiatives for the courts to address the most acute justice infrastructure needs. This section provides an update on progress for these initiatives.

Te Au Reka: the new digital document and case management system
Te Au Reka[54] is a digital case and court management system intended to modernise the way New Zealand’s courts and tribunals function. It will make it simpler, faster and easier to engage with courts and tribunals.

It is being built in conjunction with the people who will use it – judges, court staff and lawyers – to make sure that it meets the requirements of busy courts. To this end, a number of mock courts were held this year to test the first iterations of the new system.

Te Au Reka will be implemented in three phases, starting in the Family Court in 2026.

Training staff and judges
Te Au Reka is being designed to be intuitive for judges, court staff, lawyers, and other users. The mock courts held this year provided insights into the kind of training the judiciary and registry (and legal profession) will need. This aligns with another of the Digital Strategy’s priority initiatives – to ensure high-quality and responsive training and support can be accessed by users of the digital technologies on which the court system depends.

Rule changes required
The Ministry of Justice is working with Parliamentary Counsel Office to draft the first tranche of amendments to the Family Court Rules that are required for the solution to be implemented in the Family Court. The focus of the rule changes is on permitting (and for lawyers, requiring) use of digital technology to file documents, and to enable the Court to use digital technology to communicate with lawyers and with parties who choose to use Te Au Reka.

Remote participation in court
One of the highest priority initiatives identified in the Digital Strategy is implementation of a high-quality and reliable system for remote participation in court proceedings. Used well, remote technology has the potential to enhance access to justice, and to support the efficient and timely determination of court proceedings.

Remote participation refers to a proceeding in court where one or more participants takes part using audio-visual (AV) or audio technology (or the matter is decided on the papers), rather than appearing in person. Remote participation was invaluable during the pandemic and has been in increasing use compared with pre-pandemic rates.

This year, the judiciary has been developing protocols that outline when the use of remote participation is likely to be appropriate and the procedural safeguards that must accompany its use.

It is the duty of judges to ensure procedural fairness and to ensure that every person who comes before the court, in whatever capacity, is seen, heard and understood. Therefore, judges must retain ultimate control over the conduct of hearings, including the use of remote participation technology.

However, providing default settings and guidance about when a departure from those defaults is likely to be considered will support a more consistent and predictable approach to the use of remote participation.

Consultation with the Ministry of Justice and legal professional associations on the civil and family protocols on remote participation occurred late in the year, for finalisation in early 2025. They set out an expanded range of hearings in which AVL can normally be used.

Protocols guiding the use of the technology for criminal proceedings in the High Court and District Court will follow.

It is envisaged that the protocols will provide confidence for the justice system as a whole about the circumstances in which remote participation is likely to be used, based on current legislative settings.

The Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Act received the Royal Assent on 2 September. The Act introduces a presumption that victims may observe criminal trials and sentencings remotely if the statutory criteria are met and authorises the use of audio links in appropriate criminal, civil and family proceedings. The judiciary is working with the Ministry of Justice to ensure implementation of the Act is well informed by judicial expertise and experience.

Remote participation technology investment
There is great variation across the country in the robustness and quality of the technological infrastructure to support remote participation.

The fourth priority initiative identified in the Digital Strategy is to ensure that reliable, secure, fit-for-purpose network infrastructure and devices are in place across all courts and tribunals. This is critical for the successful and fair implementation of further remote participation.

To better understand the capability across all agencies who have a part in court proceedings, a joint judicial and Ministry of Justice committee, the Remote Participation Services Steering Committee (previously the AV Roadmap Steering Committee) will next year build a view of existing facilities and capability, usage data and analysis of the impacts on proceedings, and an understanding of the infrastructure and processes required for remote participation to enhance access to justice.

Principles governing digital technology in the courts
The judiciary has identified 13 core principles to guide all decisions about digital technology used in the court system.

Consistent with core values – technology should support the delivery of justice in a manner that promotes the rule of law and respects human dignity and the values that underpin the legal system of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Consistent with constitutional responsibilities – technology solutions should be consistent with the judiciary’s constitutional responsibility for court information, judicial information, and court business.
People-centred – technology should be centred on meeting the needs of all its users. Users should be involved in design processes, development and testing. Systems should be accessible, intuitive and easy to use; they should make it easier for people to participate in the court system, and to do the right thing.
Inclusive – the adoption of digital technologies should reduce barriers to access to the court system, including barriers currently faced by people with disabilities, people using languages other than English, and people with limited means. Technology must not increase barriers to access for people who are digitally disadvantaged.
Reliable – technology used in the courts must be reliable and resilient, appropriately scaled to meet peak demand, and well maintained and supported.
Secure – information that is communicated and stored using digital technologies must be appropriately secure, appropriately protecting of privacy and confidentiality interests.
Transparent – people who provide information that is stored digitally should be able to ascertain how that information is stored, who will have access to that information, and the purposes for which that information may be used.
Integrated – systems should be appropriately integrated to ensure simplicity, ease of use and efficiency.
Flexible and enabling – the technology that supports the courts must be capable of iterative evolution to meet changing needs and to generate, and take advantage of, new opportunities for innovation and enhanced delivery of justice.
Implementable – all technology changes should be accompanied by appropriate organisational and process changes to maximise the benefits from the technology, such as targeted change management processes, training and support.
Properly supported – ongoing training and high-quality and responsive support for users are essential to enable digital technologies to be used effectively across the court system.
Data-driven – systems should be able to gather data, report on the operation of the court system, and obtain feedback from users to assess efficacy and identify opportunities for improvement.
Based on proven solutions – our court system should aim to be a fast-follower; we should learn from the experience of other similar jurisdictions and adopt “best of class” solutions that have been deployed successfully in their courts and tribunals.

AI in the courts
The Chief Justice established the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Group in 2023, initially to produce best practice guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence. These were the first court guidelines on AI to be issued in the world, and have served as a template for other jurisdictions.[55]

In 2024, following the publication of best practice guidelines here and in several other jurisdictions, UNESCO published Draft Guidelines for the Use of AI Systems in Courts and Tribunals for consultation as part of its AI and the Rule of Law programme. The guidelines aim to offer comprehensive guidance to courts and tribunals to ensure that the deployment of AI technologies aligns with the fundamental principles of justice, human rights, and the rule of law. These guidelines should be of interest to judges, legal practitioners and all agencies working in the justice area.

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Footnotes

[54] Te au translates as ‘current’ or ‘flow’, and ‘reka’ as ‘sweet, palatable and pleasant.’ Te Au Reka means the sweet flow – envisaging a case management system that enables court processes to flow seamlessly from beginning to end.

[55] The draft guidelines are found at https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000390781