Foreword | 1. Introduction | 2. Our court system | 3. Key participants for media in the court | 4. Media in court | 5. Courts with special media provisions | 6. Access to court information | 7. Courts with special rules concerning access to information | 8. Ministry of Justice media contacts | 9. References | 10. Appendices
Courts are independent and impartial. Judges, in exercising the jurisdiction of the court, are subject only to law.
Judges are responsible for the conduct of proceedings that are before them and are able to make orders to ensure that proceedings are conducted fairly and without disruption.
Justices of the Peace and Community Magistrates sit and exercise limited jurisdiction in the District Courts.
Every court has a registrar and most courts also have a number of deputy registrars who are able to exercise most of the powers of a registrar, as permitted by legislation.
Registrars, including deputy registrars, are statutory appointments and are able to exercise specified jurisdiction of the court, including considering applications to access some court records.
Note: In some criminal matters registrars will need to refer applications to a judge. See 6.2.
The Court Registry Office staff member taking court, commonly known as the court taker, is referred to by title as the registrar while court is in session.
The court manager is responsible for the administrative aspects of the court including the timely flow of cases through the court system, the maintenance and security of court buildings, court staff and other general management responsibilities.
The role of the court manager is a fundamentally different role from that of the registrar and does not involve exercise of the court’s jurisdiction. However, in most districts the court registrar is also the court manager.
The court taker assists the judge to run the court and ensures the court lists and press sheets are available.
While the court is sitting, the court taker’s priority is to assist the judge.
They can assist media with routine or administrative enquiries when the court is out of session.
However, this is also when staff take their work breaks so please be aware of this when making requests.
The court reporter (in the High Court a similar role is called Judge’s Associate) transcribes verbatim the evidence, comments, proceedings and decisions delivered in court, either from digital recordings or at times sitting directly in the courtroom.
They may also check, edit and print copies of the official transcript and type up written material such as court decisions for judges and other court documents.