Consumer Claims

The Consumer Claims Tribunal should be administered, like other courts, by the Department of the Attorney General and of Justice. The Tribunal should be closely linked with the existing Courts of Petty Sessions.

Limited access to the Tribunal should be granted to proprietors of small businesses. The ambit of claims that can be brought before the Tribunal should be broadened to include, at the least, actions in tort.

Pre-trial Conference

The Supreme Court Rules should be amended to permit, in the Common Law Division, a direction, by the court itself or on the application of a party that the parties attend a conference two weeks before trial.

The recommended conference would be conducted by a Master.

To enable the case to be sufficiently prepared for a full assessment of liability and quantum, counsel should be fully briefed before a pre-trial conference. At the outset, pre-trial conferences should be directed only for cases expected to occupy three or more days.

Settlement Conference

As an experiment, it would be useful to appoint Masters to conduct settlement negotiations, but those negotiations are not appropriate in every case.

A settlement conference should be an adjunct to a pre-trial conference, not a proceeding in its own right.

Barristers should represent the parties to settlement negotiations.

Settlement conferences should be held only where a case is expected to occupy three or more days, with possible future extension to those expected to occupy at least two days.

Examination for Discovery

Examination for discovery, because of its expense, would not be an acceptable innovation in this State.

Adjournments

The courts should review their policies about adjournment applications in civil and criminal proceedings, to ensure that adjournments are only granted on compelling and "exceptional" grounds.

Summary Traffic Trials

There should be adopted a summary traffic trial procedure like that operating in Oakland, California, U.S.A.

The recommended procedure contemplates making available Chamber Magistrates to assess whether cases that are not serious need go to a court hearing.

Night Courts in Traffic Cases

Night Courts for traffic cases should be continued in New South Wales.

Court Reporting

The system of court reporting called "multi-track voice writing" should be introduced experimentally in New South Wales.

Night Arbitration of Personal Disputes

An arbitration programme (usually held in the evening), like the "Night Prosecutor Program" of Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A., should be introduced in this State.

The arbitration hearing should be conducted after the complaining party, on taking the advice of a Chamber Magistrate, remains determined to proceed with his charge. Chamber Magistrates (more of whom might need to be appointed for the purpose) could preside at the hearings.

Criminal Pre-trial Conference

A pre-trial conference for long criminal trials should be introduced experimentally in Sydney.

The conference should be appointed when a trial date is set, and should be within 14 days of the trial. It should be presided over by a judge.

The judge who presides at the conference should also preside at the trial, but he should not become involved in "plea bargaining".

The conference procedure should be similar to that now used in the Central Criminal Court, London.

The court should be empowered to order a pre-trial conference either of its own motion or upon the application of the Crown or of counsel for the defence.

Committal Proceedings

A person who consents to the procedure should be committed for trial on the basis of written statements, but without consideration of the evidence by the magistrate.

If this recommendation is adopted it should operate subject to conditions like those effective in England and Wales; particularly that the accused be legally represented.

At first, a procedure like this should be undertaken experimentally in a small number of courts.

The Clerk of the Peace should have a more important role in "screening" cases before trial.

"Screening" of Criminal Charges

There should be a more effective system of "screening" criminal charges: it should be "pre-indictment screening" not "pre-charge screening".

Requiring Discovery by Prosecution

On the trial of offences triable only by indictment, full discovery should be available at the request of the accused person on his first appearance at Petty Sessions.

If that recommendation is adopted, full discovery at the outset should be made available in respect of indictable offences triable summarily with the consent of the magistrate and of the accused.

There are compelling reasons for extending full discovery to charges triable summarily. The procedure should be the same as that proposed for indictable offences, but should be confined to serious offences, and should not be introduced until discovery in indictable offences has been proved successful by experiment.

Requiring Discovery by Accused

The defence should not be compelled, in advance of the trial, to disclose to the prosecution information additional to alibi evidence.