Page 4415 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 8 December 1993
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a number of issues surrounding the operation of the court, and I have no doubt that that process will continue for many years to come. There are, of course, issues about the extent of Commonwealth neglect of that court in terms of its structure and its operation. I will not get into that debate today; but I certainly say that I think there is a substantial need for us, as the Assembly of the Territory, to be addressing issues which have not been faced up to for some time about the modernisation of both the legal framework in which the court operates and the physical infrastructure in which it operates, which is perhaps as pressing an issue as the first of those issues. Madam Speaker, I note, first of all, that I said that the ACT took control of the Supreme Court in 1991. Of course, it was last year, not 1991.
This Bill creates a new class of acting judge in the ACT. Members will be aware that we have had our problems from time to time in providing for enough judge hours to be available in a particular period to meet the needs of the Territory. It is necessary from time to time to commit judges to very lengthy and time consuming trials. There are some trials of that kind going on in the ACT at the moment - another is due to start next year - which are bound to consume a great deal of judicial man hours - I can use that expression, I think - and which necessarily drain resources away from other areas where there are concerns. I note that the ACT at present is relatively well served by the capacity of its court. Waiting periods, I understand, in most areas are comparable with those available in the States and we probably are not facing what you might call a crisis in dealing with matters before the court in an expeditious way, relying on the principle that justice delayed is justice denied. However, there is a demonstrated need, I think, for us to have some flexibility.
This Bill creates the concept of an acting judge which will allow the Government to pick up the question of putting somebody in the position of a judge when we are facing a considerable commitment to some other use of the present judges' time. I think that will considerably expedite the problem of court lists when we face, as we will next year, and probably to some extent this year, a very heavy commitment on the part of some judges to other particular matters. The qualifications for appointment as an acting judge are that a person has been a judge of a superior court of record of the Commonwealth, a State, or a Territory, or that the person has the same qualifications in terms of legal experience as presently apply for appointment as a resident judge. That obviously is a similar requirement to the requirement that presently has to be employed in the appointment of a permanent judge.
I pose perhaps a rhetorical question about whether this is a sufficient qualification in these circumstances. Obviously a person who is to be permanently employed as a judge in our ACT court will be building up a level of expertise and experience over a period, particularly if that person has not previously been a judge, that will serve the Territory very well. An acting judge might be appointed for only short periods and not be reappointed, and a succession of acting judges therefore would obtain, in total, less experience than would a permanent appointee. If the Territory were to take the course of appointing a series of acting judges rather than appointing the same person as the acting judge from time to time, we would find at the end of a particular period, say five years, that the experience of our acting judge or acting judges would be less than the experience of a permanent judge had one person been appointed from time to time to act as an acting judge.
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