I. Introduction

26. In assessing the effectiveness of any criminal justice system a criterion of major importance is the absence of unreasonable delay in the disposition of cases passing through the system. The aphorism “justice delayed is justice denied” is especially relevant in the context of Courts of Petty Sessions. As indicated already, most of the judicial work arising out of the criminal law of this State is done by magistrates sitting in these courts. Between them, about 100 magistrates deal with more than 600,000 charge and summons cases a year. The cases range from the trivial to the important; from parking offences to committal proceedings in respect of alleged murders.

27. We stress that we are not using the word “delay” in any pejorative sense. We recognise that some delays are inevitable and that others are positively beneficial. Both the prosecution and the defence must be allowed reasonable time to gather evidence, to organise the attendance of witnesses, and, generally, to prepare their respective cases. Parties and their witnesses are often in or otherwise unavailable for good reasons. In short, we recognise that delays are not necessarily bad.

II. Proper Delays

28. A preliminary question is what is a proper delay in disposal of a criminal case in a Court of Petty Sessions?

29. One experienced magistrate, in speaking of delays in criminal proceedings in magistrates’ courts in New South Wales, has said:

“In practice, custodial cases [those involving people in custody awaiting trial] are required as a matter of justice to proceed as soon as the parties are ready to proceed. In non-custodial cases, a delay of up to eight weeks is not regarded as serious, although undesirable, but any delay in excess of twelve weeks is regarded as serious.

30. Thedistinctiondrawnbetweencustodialandnon-custodialcasesisimportantandwe understand that in practice every possible priority is given to custodial cases. But, given this priority, is the present position satisfactory? We are also concerned about delays in non-custodial cases. is a delay of up to eight weeks to be regarded as not serious? Is only a delay in excess of twelve weeks to be regarded as seriously We specifically invite submissions on what is a proper delay in routine non-custodial cases.

31. We also list what we see as being the most common causes and effects of existing delays and we ask whether we have accurately identified them. And, for the purpose of reducing delays, we raise the question whether magistrates should be given additional powers to control proceedings in Courts of Petty Sessions.