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Annual statistics for the High Court 30 June 2019

High Court Criminal Jurisdiction - year ended 30 June 2019

On 1 July 2013, the procedural provisions affecting criminal trials changed with the commencement of most of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (CPA) provisions.

Under the CPA, cases that are High Court-only offences (known as Category 4 cases and are generally murder/manslaughter/attempted murder charges) have their first appearance in the District Court and are then managed in the High Court from second appearance onwards. The rest of the trials heard in the High Court are known as “protocol cases”.  [1]   Protocol cases are made up mainly of serious sexual, violence, drug and fraud offences.  After a case review hearing in the District Court, a High Court Judge determines whether the protocol case should be heard in the High Court or District Court.  If the case is ordered to be heard in the High Court, it is counted as a High Court case from that time. 

Cases are counted as ready for trial under the CPA once they have had a case review hearing or protocol determination.

This analysis compares figures as at 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2018.

Criminal Trials

164 new criminal trials were received by the High Court this year, a decrease of one case (0.6%) compared to 165 new criminal trials last year.

These 164 new criminal trials were made up as follows

  • Category 4 cases - 84 cases (51%)
  • Protocol and other cases [2] - 65 cases (40%)
  • Split, reactivated cases and re-trials directed [3] - 15 cases (9%)

A feature of the new business this year is the larger percentage of Category 4 cases received, compared to the number of new Category 4 cases received last year (70 cases - 42%).  For the year ending 30 June 2017, the number of new Category 4 cases received was 50 (28%).

As at 30 June 2019, there were 148 criminal trials on hand, an increase of 13 trials (10%) compared to 135 trials on hand last year.  Of the 148 criminal trials on hand, 127 cases were awaiting trial and 21 cases were awaiting sentencing.

Estimated hearing days for trials have increased slightly.  As at 30 June 2019, the estimated hearing days for cases awaiting trial was 1923 days, compared to 1908 days at the same time last year.  However, as the number of cases awaiting trial has increased to 127 from 120 last year, the average hearing days per trial has decreased from 15.9 days to 15.1 days.

The number of criminal trials disposed [4] this year was 128 cases, a decrease of 27 cases (17%) compared to 155 cases last year.  Of the disposals with final outcomes, 55 cases (49%) were disposed by guilty plea this year compared with 61 (46%) last year.

The vast majority (98%) of the cases disposed this year were dealt with under the CPA process.  These cases had an average age at disposal of 510 days.  Two cases were disposed during the year that were commenced under the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 process.

The number of criminal trials held this year was 76 cases, a decrease of 16 cases (17%) compared to 92 cases last year.  Of the trials held this year, 16 cases (21%) were disposed by guilty plea on the day compared to 22 cases (24%) last year.

The median waiting time to trial from committal (SPA process) or post case review (CPA process) was 383 days, an increase of 36 days (10%) compared to 347 days last year.

Criminal appeals

This analysis compares figures as at 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2018.

There were 1,241 criminal appeals filed this year, an increase of 176 cases (17%) compared to the 1,065 cases filed last year.  There were 1,160 cases disposed this year compared to 1,106 cases last year, an increase of 54 cases (5%). 

As at 30 June 2019, the number of active criminal appeals (awaiting hearing or judgment) was 242, an increase of 92 cases (61%) compared to 150 active criminal appeals last year [5] .

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[1]       See s66 CPA and the most recent Court of Trial protocol .

[2]     As well as protocol cases directed to be heard in the High Court, included are cases transferred to the High Court under s 70 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and under s 86D of the Sentencing Act 2002 (3 rd strike cases).

[3]       Reactivated cases are cases that have had a re-trial directed by the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court.  Re-trials directed refers to cases where a trial had a hung jury or was aborted and the High Court has directed a new trial.

[4]     "Disposed cases" are defined having a final outcome, e.g. sentence, acquittal, dismissal, withdrawal, or joined to another case.

[5]       The 30 June 2018 balance figure noted here is the one noted in the June 2018 year-end statistics.  The Ministry updates its figures for 12 months so changes can occur following late data entry or error correction.

 

High Court Civil Jurisdiction – year ended 30 June 2019

Note:

Civil cases in this context include: General Proceedings, Judicial Reviews, and Originating Applications. 

Insolvency cases are Bankruptcy cases (where an adjudication application has been filed) and Company Liquidations. 

Civil appeals are matters in the civil jurisdiction appealed to the High Court from either the District Court (including the Family Court), the Environment Court or a Tribunal.

The analysis compares figures as at 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2018.

Civil Jurisdiction Overview

There were 2,139 new civil cases filed this year, a decrease of 371 cases (15%) compared to the 2,510 cases filed last year.  There were 2,285 civil cases disposed nationally, a decrease of 9 cases compared to the 2,294 cases disposed last year.

The decrease in filings is mainly attributable to the decrease in the number of general proceedings cases filed.  The principal reason is the decrease in the number of new earthquake related cases in Christchurch, which is noted in more detail below.

As at 30 June 2019, the number of active civil cases (awaiting hearing or judgment) was 2,845, a decrease of 165 cases (5%) compared to 3,010 active civil cases last year.

Cases involving historic abuse in state institutions

As at 30 June 2019, there are 490 cases on hand in the Wellington registry involving allegations of historic abuse in state institutions.  Three cases are being actively managed while the remaining 487 currently do not require management as the parties are not actively pursuing court adjudication at this stage.

Long-term trends

The decreasing trend in the number of general proceedings cases that were filed or disposed continued.

Both new and disposed insolvency cases have been trending down for several years.

General Proceedings   

General proceedings are the most representative type of civil dispute brought to court.

The greatest proportion of general proceedings claims filed in the past 12 months were “Contractual Disputes” related cases which made up 15% of the claims filed.  "Estate Litigation” and " Other Trust Litigation" cases made up 10% and 9% of claims filed respectively.

There were 1,130 general proceedings filed this year, a decrease of 330 cases (23%) compared to the 1,460 cases filed last year.  The decrease in filings in the Christchurch registry saw filings drop by 241 cases (17%) from 405 cases to 164, as fewer cases related to Christchurch earthquake insurance or building defect matters were filed.  In the Auckland registry filings dropped by 31 cases (9%) from 564 cases to 533 and, in the Wellington registry, filings dropped by 57 cases (28%) from 207 cases to 150.  

There were 1,286 cases disposed this year compared to 1,290 cases last year, a decrease of 4 cases (0.3%).  The number of active general proceedings (awaiting hearing or judgment) was 2,209, a decrease of 154 cases (7%) compared to 2,363 active general proceedings last year. 

The number of active cases in the Auckland registry decreased by 18 cases to 641 cases (3%).  The number of active cases in the Wellington registry decreased by 18 cases to 664 cases (3%).  The number of active cases in the Christchurch registry decreased by 135 cases to 545 cases (20%).  Of the cases on hand in Christchurch, 73% were earthquake-related cases (79% last year).

The median waiting time [6] to trial for active general proceedings was 379 days, an increase of 18 days (5%) compared to 361 days last year.

Judicial Reviews

There were 167 judicial reviews filed this year, a decrease of 42 cases (20%), compared to the 209 cases filed last year.  There were 181 cases disposed this year compared to the 182 cases disposed last year, a decrease of 1 case (0.5%).

As at 30 June 2019, the number of active judicial reviews (awaiting hearing or judgment) was 133, a decrease of 17 cases (11%) compared to 150 active judicial reviews last year.

Originating Applications

There were 842 originating applications filed this year, an increase of one case (0.2%), compared to the 841 cases filed last year.

There were 818 cases disposed this year compared to the 822 cases disposed last year, a decrease of 4 cases (0.5%).

As at 30 June 2019, the number of active originating applications (awaiting hearing or judgment) was 503, an increase of 6 cases (1%) compared to 497 active originating applications last year.

Active cases remain at a high level due to the 197 cases filed under the Marine & Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 before 3 April 2017 to meet a statutory deadline.  For most cases, court adjudication is not being actively pursued by the parties at this time.

Civil Appeals

There were 269 civil appeals filed this year, a decrease of 17 cases (6%) compared to the 286 cases filed last year.  There were 282 cases disposed this year compared to 266 cases last year, an increase of 16 cases (6%).

As at 30 June 2019, the number of active civil appeals (awaiting hearing or judgment) was 178, a decrease of 20 cases (10%) compared to 198 active civil appeals last year.

Insolvency Proceedings

Over the past several years, there has been a decreasing trend in active insolvency proceedings and that trend continued again this year.  There were 1,710 insolvency proceedings filed this year, a decrease of 383 cases (18%) compared to the 2,093 cases filed last year.  There were 1,842 cases disposed this year compared to 2,145 cases last year, a decrease of 303 cases (14%).

As at 30 June 2019, the number of active insolvency proceedings (awaiting hearing or judgment) was 371, a decrease of 135 cases (27%) compared to 506 active insolvency proceedings last year. [7]

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[6]     Waiting time is measured from the date the case was deemed ready for hearing to the future hearing date.