The legislation will take effect on 1 February
The Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Bill has been passed by parliament and received Royal Assent.
The legislation is set to come into force on 1 February. It impacts the Senior Courts Act 2016, the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, Coroners Act 2006 and High Court Rules 2016.
Among the changes to the Senior Courts Act is an increase in the cap on the number of judges sitting in High Court. Moreover, a registrar may pass a plainly abusive civil proceeding onto a judge. A judge may strike out such a proceeding on their own initiative.
The Criminal Procedure Act has been reformed such that if a single defendant is charged with two or more offences in different District Court locations, a District Court judge may direct that charges be managed collectively in one District Court location at the pre-trial stage, including the administrative and review stages. This direction applies solely to new pre-trial proceedings and will not affect ongoing ones.
Charges will revert to the original court of filing for trial and sentencing unless the judge has the charge moved to a different District Court location. Requests to merge proceedings will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Moreover, a Court of Appeal judge may remit to the High Court a first appeal or application for leave to appeal to first appeal court. Changes to the Coroners Act include authorising a coroner to close an inquiry regardless of the initial decision.
