A NEW practice note comes into force for civil cases in the District Courts on 1 March. It introduces a common case management regime in District Courts throughout New Zealand, and replaces all practice notes currently relating to civil case management in District Court Registries.
Caseflow management has been of considerable interest to the Judiciary, the Department for Courts and a growing number of practitioners in recent years. Pilot projects have been conducted in both the High and District Courts since 1994 and, following their evaluation, a national Civil Case Management High Court Practice Note was introduced to the High Court from 1 January last year.
It is now widely accepted that caseflow management increases the timeliness of case disposal and enhances the level of service provided to court users. With this in mind, judges in the District Courts also decided to implement a common caseflow management regime throughout the country and have, consequently, developed this new practice note.
A key concept of the model of caseflow management is that the court takes responsibility for ensuring that, once filed, a cases progresses swiftly to disposition. Early settlement is encouraged by negotiation or use of ADR, and the course of proceedings is prescribed so that parties will be aware of the events that will occur and the likely time and cost involved.
Another important feature of the model is that timetabled events are monitored to ensure that they occur and that there is an orderly progression towards conclusion of each case.
The Department for Courts has printed the practice note in booklet form to provide a handy reference for practitioners and other interested parties. It is available, free of charge, from all District Court Registries.