Policy Context
Delays in court proceedings are a primary cause of diminished public trust and confidence in the court. For this reason, timeliness and expedition of the court's processes is specifically isolated under Principle No 2, even though this might simply be treated as an aspect of access to justice.
Evaluating case delay requires distinguishing between the amount of time required for processing cases in a just manner, and time taken which is unacceptable.
For
this reason, the court must establish case processing time standards
and monitor the finalisation of cases against these.
Standard 2.1 specifies that the court must monitor its performance against a number of benchmarks of efficient caseflow management which relate to the effective use of the court's resources.
Standards 2.2 and 2.3 draw attention to the need for the court to view itself as a service agency and to review its performance in that light.Standard 2.2 emphasises the need for the court to consider user convenience as well as its own, and to establish a 'client appointments' system which has integrity.
Standard 2.3 draws attention to user expectations that all of the courts services will be provided in a timely fashion.
Last
Updated 10/02/01 
