Ministry of Justice publishes Long-Term Insights Briefing
The Ministry of Justice has released its second Long-term Insights Briefing (LTIB) on The Future Operation of Courts and Justice Services, outlining six strategic choices to make courts more accessible, efficient, and resilient over the next 20 years.
The Ministry’s LTIB is a “think piece” that shares insights on challenges and opportunities that may affect the future operation of courts in Aotearoa New Zealand. LTIBs can help guide future thinking and work, but don’t make policy recommendations.
Secretary for Justice Andrew Kibblewhite says public consultation confirmed that the draft LTIB identified the right areas for future consideration.
“It was heartening to see feedback on the LTIB indicate that New Zealand’s courts and justice services generally work effectively. However, there were concerns about the timeliness of justice, and that the court system is under-resourced and over-burdened,” Mr Kibblewhite says.
The LTIB examines costs, user experience, and trends such as New Zealand’s growing, ageing, and diversifying population, which will affect court operations, and the level of support people need when accessing justice services.
The six strategic choices for decision-makers identified in the LTIB are:
- whether we should find ways to address unmet legal need, particularly where cost is a barrier to people accessing justice
- whether we should undertake structural reform of the court system
- whether we should substantially increase navigation and support for people participating in court processes
- whether we should look at more ambitious uses for AI
- whether we should make greater use of remote participation
- whether we should more actively shape the future court workforce.
Consultation highlighted accessibility and victims’ experiences, with calls for simpler processes and more in-court support.
“Respondents raised the complexity of navigating justice services as a barrier to access to justice. They called for more in-court support and simpler court processes. The final briefing reflects these insights”.
“Our latest LTIB provided the chance to look ahead and talk with a wide range of people about what they believe matters for the future operation of the courts and justice services. We particularly welcomed the insights of those with experience of the courts and justice services,” Mr Kibblewhite says.
The LTIB was tabled in Parliament this week. Any future changes stemming from the briefing would require discussion with the Judiciary and Government.
Read the full LTIB on the Ministry of Justice website: Long-Term Insights Briefing.