Launch Commonwealth Courts Portal

Judges’ Conference Room
Level 16, Federal Court of Australia
Commonwealth Law Courts Building,
305 William Street, Melbourne

Tuesday, 17 June 2008, 9.30 am

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Acknowledgements

Other Acknowledgements

Introduction

  1. Thank you for your welcome this morning.
    I am delighted to be here to launch the Commonwealth Courts Portal – and to thank the courts for their collaborative efforts.
  2. There is a theme that permeates this occasion.
    And it is that the law should surely be accessible at all times and to everyone.
  3. The rule of law requires not only that laws be fair and just, but also that the community properly understands those laws. That is why technology is such an important tool in creating new pathways to access justice.
  4. In particular, the internet has changed the way in which courts and lawyers have operated for centuries and presented new opportunities for increasing access to justice. While open justice has long been a fundamental principle of our legal system, it has been the internet which has really thrown open courts’ doors to the public.
  5. That this change has occurred in the matter of years has been all the more remarkable. The internet is now part of every aspect of our lives but it was only six years ago that the High Court first wrestled with the technicalities of the internet revolution in the Dow Jones v Gutnick case.

    “For present purposes, it is convenient to adopt what was said in that evidence without diverting to consider what qualification to, or amplification of, that evidence might be necessary to give a complete and entirely accurate description of the Internet or the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is but one particular service available over the Internet. It enables a document to be stored in such a way on one computer connected to the Internet that a person using another computer connected to the Internet can request and receive a copy of the document.

  6. Such explanations seem almost quaint in an age where now most people think little about how so much information is only a click away.
  7. In the law, the AUSTLII website has been an important tool to greatly increase Australians’ understanding of and confidence in the justice system by making court judgments easily accessible. I am grateful that AUSTLII’s importance has been recognised by the Australian legal profession through their willingness to dig deep and support it in its hour of need. I am confident that willingness to support AUSTLII will continue.

Technological advances

  1. In a similar way to AUSTLII, this portal facility will assist in creating a new pathway to access justice.
  2. All of us who have worked in the law know that an effective justice system requires the continual development of more efficient ways to progress litigation – from filing to finalisation. The courts portal proves the point.
  3. I am certain that practitioners and courts will enthusiastically embrace this new web-based service.
    For a start it will streamline the delivery of court services and allow easy access to filed documents.

Access to justice for litigants

  1. The Portal also goes a further step – and will enable greater access to the law for litigants.
  2. The ‘e-Search’ facility, initiated in the Federal Court and the federal law jurisdiction of the FMC, also allows court users to track the progress of matters online.
  3. Such resources would have been unthinkable just twenty years ago.
  4. The Portal proves that technology can assist in streamlining court processes.
    But it’s also important that traditional court registries continue striving to improve access to justice for court users.
  5. This is happening.
  6. I have been encouraged by initiatives such as the Combined Registry Project in the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court.
    This included the production of a joint application form to streamline the process of filing family law matters.
  7. Litigants are now also able to file general federal law applications in family law registries.
  8. This initiative began as a pilot in a number of regional locations and is being rolled out across Australia.
    It allows for the seamless filing of applications, reduces confusion and frustration for litigants, and ultimately cuts costs.
  9. For these good reasons, it’s an initiative that the Government strongly supports.

Access to justice through ADR processes

  1. Recently I announced proposals to strengthen model litigant obligations to ensure that government lawyers do all they can to resolve Government disputes without going to court.
  2. I am serious about maximising opportunities for alternative dispute resolution to remove impediments to prompt dispute resolution and to keep a check on litigation costs.
  3. However, when disputes cannot be resolved outside the courts, better use of technology in legal proceedings will help to reduce costs and facilitate access to justice.

Mega-litigation

  1. But there’s more to be achieved – greater efficiencies to be drawn upon.
  2. Take for example so-called ‘mega-litigation’ cases.
  3. Many of you have first hand experience of those large commercial disputes with complex legal issues, multiple parties, numerous lawyers, thousands of documents and hundreds of thousands of pages of evidence.
  4. Mega-litigation consumes a disproportionate amount of our court resources – resources paid for by the public.
  5. In such cases technology could make a difference. Reducing the strain on resources by allowing documents to be lodged online, or for hearings to be held electronically, is a worthy goal.
  6. The courts are examining these services for the future – and I commend their work. This portal is the start not the end point for the kind of court services that can be provided through the internet. As I indicated at the beginning of this speech, the principle of open justice is a fundamental principle of our system of law. We must look at new ways of putting that principle into practice.

Conclusion

  1. As to today and the progress already made, I applaud the intent of the portal project, and the benefits that will flow.
  2. Let me say that having a gateway is one thing– knowing how to open the gate and provide access is the intelligent bit.
  3. And so I congratulate the Chief Justices, the Chief Federal Magistrate, their staff and members of the legal profession for developing the project.
    I wish them well in seeing it through to its ultimate application.

ENDS