Peer Review

This review is carried out by a team of three or so from the court reviewed and from neighbouring courts, and takes a day, including feedback to staff the court reviewed. Users of the court and members of the community may be involved in the review and should receive feedback on the results.

This review needs to be planned well in advance, and the staff of the court to be reviewed should be made aware of the client services standards and benchmarks as the context of the review. It may follow a local review, giving the staff of the court involved an opportunity to remedy any deficiencies they identify through that earlier review.

This checklist may be printed out and used as a guide to each review. However it should always be read, and the results interpreted, in the context of the principles, standards and benchmarks (which appear at the left of this page).

For the greater benefit in using this review, read it in conjunction with the principles it monitors:

1: Access to Justice

2: Expedition and Timeliness

3: Equality, Fairness and Integrity

4: Independence and Accountability

5: Public Trust and Confidence

1 Access to Justice
1.1.1	Check that doors are open by [8.45]: Foyer Check that doors are open by [9.00]: Public waiting area Victims' rooms Conference rooms Witness rooms Public toilets

1.1.2	Are there any barriers in the way of wheelchair users? When appropriate, discuss with wheelchair users. If access is not available make representations and follow up.
1.1.3	Check that doors are open by [9.15 or 15 min before court commences]: Court 1 Court 2 etc.
1.1.4	Is a 'closed court' sign available? (When in camera matters are heard) Are doors closed and a sign in place?
1.1.5	Check times Registry and Chamber Magistrate waiting area doors are open against stated service times and court sitting times.
1.1.6	Check cleaning, lighting and appearance: Public seating Foyer Court rooms Chamber waiting area Court waiting area Interview rooms Public toilets Ramp Steps Yard Registry
1.2.1	Is there adequate seating for the public and professional court users?
1.2.2	Is there adequate space at the bar table (at busy times)? Is a table provided for the use of unrepresented defendants and litigants?
1.2.3	Does the witness box face the bench, the bar table and the dock? Ask the Magistrate: Do you have an adequate view of the witness? Do you have any difficulty hearing the witness?
1.2.4	Observe: Are all lights working? Has anything been placed to obstruct views from public gallery, bench, dock, bar table or remote cameras? Ask the Magistrate: Do you, and other participants, have an adequate view to all parts of the court room? Have any deficiencies been reported to the Registrar or to central administration?
1.2.5	Observe: Are proceedings audible from the public gallery? Are there any factors (other than the structure of the court room) that make hearing difficult? Ask the Magistrate: Can you clearly hear all the proceedings in court? Have any deficiencies been reported or led to requests for amplification?
1.3.1	Ask the Magistrate and Court Officer: Is the current system of guarding prisoners appearing in court suitable? Is the alarm system suitable? Is the alarm system and response time regularly tested? What are the results of testing?
1.3.2	Observe: Visibility of waiting areas from the street. If they are visible: ask the Registrar: What remedial action has been taken?
1.3.3	Observe: Are witnesses' and victims' rooms private? Test that doors to can be locked from inside. If they are not lockable or not private, ask the Registrar: What remedial action has been taken?
1.3.4	Observe: Which staff are able to view public areas? Ask the Registrar: Do staff with a view to the public areas have access to the alarm system? Are monitors (if there are CCTV monitors) or waiting areas regularly observed by staff? Is there an officer responsible for observing the monitors? Have any hazardous times been identified? Is any additional attention given to monitoring security at these times?
1.4.1	Note any difficulty contacting the court house by phone or fax. Note if phone lines and fax machines are constantly in use. Ask the Registrar and staff: Has there been an evaluation of the facilities needed to ensure remote access? If current facilities are deficient, has that been communicated to central administration?
1.5.1	Ask the Magistrate, Registrar, Chamber Magistrate, office staff and Court Officer: Have you (and your staff) received training in multicultural issues, including the use of interpreters? Ask the Registrar: What courses are available for staff? What efforts have been made to ensure the availability of courses and staff attendance at them?
1.5.2	Ask the Magistrate, Registrar, Chamber Magistrate, office staff and Court Officer: Have you (and your staff) received training in indigenous issues? (including: Aboriginal society and the history of and origins of social disadvantage among Aboriginal communities.) Were Aboriginal organisations involved in this training? Ask the Registrar: What courses are available for staff? What efforts have been made to ensure the availability of courses and staff attendance at them?
1.5.3	Ask the Magistrate, Registrar, Chamber Magistrate, office staff and Court Officer: Does the court have a contact list of and liaise with local ethnic and Aboriginal organisations? Have you (and your staff) attended meetings or informal gatherings with local ethnic or Aboriginal organisations? Ask the Registrar: What efforts have been made to maintain a contact list, to liaise, and to meet informally with these groups?
1.5.4	Ask the Magistrate and Registrar: What needs relevant to court services or hearings have been identified among local Aboriginal or ethnic communities? What specific service delivery methods have been developed to meet these needs?
1.6.1	Ask the Registrar: Does your court deal with Aboriginal people on a regular basis? Corroborate by observation, local knowledge If so: How many staff members are Aboriginal? If none: What representations have been made to the Department to secure Aboriginal staff for this court?
1.7.1	Observe: Availability of documents, posters and pamphlets explaining roles of Magistrate and staff to users? Ask Court Officer and office staff: How do you explain the roles of the Magistrate, Registrar and court staff?
1.7.2	Ask the Magistrate: Are you familiar with any published guidelines for the assessment of parties' and witnesses' ability to speak and understand English?
1.7.3	Ask the Magistrate, Registrar, Chamber Magistrate, office staff and Court Officer: How do you assess the need for an interpreter and arrange bookings as required?
1.7.4	Ask the Magistrate, Registrar, Chamber Magistrate, Court Officer and office staff: Are interpreters sought every time the need for one has been identified? Are interpreters provided by telephone immediately and in person within 24 hours?
1.7.5	Ask the Registrar, Chamber Magistrate and office staff: Is there a list of the legal and social aid agencies in the area? When was it last updated? Is a copy accessible to all staff? When and how is the list used?
1.7.6	Ask the Magistrate, Chamber Magistrate and Registrar: How do you receive information about the agencies in the area and the services they provide? Which legal and social aid agencies in your area do you liaise with?
1.7.7	Ask the Registrar, Court Officer and office staff: What are the common enquires and processes required of this court? Do you have information readily available for court users in relation to these?
1.7.8	Ask the Registrar and Court Officer: How do you ensure that all signs and other displayed public information are readable, accurate and up to date? Is a staff member allocated to monitoring compliance with the daily checklist?
2 Expedition and Timeliness
2.1.1	Select the court papers for all matters finalised within the month before the review. Count: (a) the total number of matters (b) those commenced more than 6 months earlier b should be no more than 5% of a.
2.1.2	Select the court's monthly returns for the 12 months before the review. Count: (a) new matters (b) matters finalised. For the 12 month period b should not exceed a. For the previous 2 months a and b should not vary by >10%.
2.1.3	From the court diary, check that the first available date for a half day hearing is within [2] months. During observation of the court monitor the dates set down for contested hearings.
2.1.4	From a sample of the court papers or lists note the proportion of not reached matters. Check hearing diaries against court results noted on the list for the week prior to the review, a week 3 months earlier; and a week 6 months earlier.
2.1.5	Check Magistrates' sitting returns for previous 6 months.
2.2.1	From the court papers of matters finalised in the month before the review (used for 2.1.1) note count: (a) the total number of matters (= a from 2.1.1) (b) the number of matters requiring more than 4 appearances to finalisation. Check that b is no more than 5% of a.
2.2.2	Two hours after the earliest time at which parties were required to attend court that morning (eg at at 11.30 if Registrar's callover matters were listed for 9.30) approach each group waiting and identify whether any are parties still waiting to appear. Why a Client Survey?
2.2.3	Ask the court officer: How are unrepresented parties queued? Observe: How the court disposes of represented and unrepresented matters for mention and plea during the first hour of sitting time.
2.3.1	Check that telephone calls are answered within [8] rings, and answered calls are not kept waiting for more than [3] minutes.
2.3.2	Check that clients attending in person are served at the counter within [5] minutes of arrival.
2.3.3	Check that no incoming facsimile transmissions or mail deliveries are uncleared or unsorted after [2] hours.
3 Equality, Fairness and Integrity
3.1.1	Ask the Magistrate/s: Do you receive transcripts of cases in which your decisions have been appealed made available to you? Do you receive information about decisions of higher courts which are relevant to matters you decide?
3.1.2	Ask the Magistrate/s: Is there a policy on granting adjournments? Does this policy come from the Chief Magistrate or is it a local policy?
3.2.1	Ask the Magistrate: Do you have immediate access to all current NSW and Commonwealth legislation, relevant up to date case law, the NSW Bench Book and the Sentencing Information System Ask registry staff: Do you have immediate access to all current NSW and Commonwealth legislation, relevant up to date case law?
3.2.2	Check that the bench book is current.
3.3.1	Ask the Magistrate/s: Are you informed regularly of how your sentencing practices compare with those of other Magistrates?
3.3.2	Ask the Magistrate: Do you have confidence in the consistency of presentencing reports you receive?
3.3.3	Ask Community Corrections Officers: Do you believe Magistrates in this court take due account of recommendations in your presentencing reports?
3.4.1	Check that all penalties due for more than 21 days have been notified to the State Debt Recovery Office.
3.4.2	Check that all CSO breaches are enforced within [7] days of being received.
3.5.1	Check access to and compliance with file control regulations.
4 Independence and Accountability
4.2.1	Ask the Magistrate/s what public statements of a code of conduct for Magistrates they are aware of, and how they were made aware of it. Compare these with any public code of conduct available from the Chief Magistrate.
4.2.2	Compare the latest version of the code of conduct available to the Magistrate/s with that available from the Chief Magistrate.
4.2.3	Ask the Magistrate/s whether they were introduced to the code of practice at induction and whether this had been updated through regular workshops.
4.3.2	Ask the Registrar how the public is advised regarding alleged breaches of the code of conduct by Magistrates, and what procedures are followed by the court if any reports are received. Compare these with the latest procedures available from the Chief Magistrate or the Judicial Commission.
4.4.1	Ask the Registrar and the Magistrate/s whether there are regular business meetings between the Magistrate/s and the Registrar which consider issues in the management of the court including: staffing of the court; property and accommodation; funding of the court, with particular reference to indicators of court efficiency and effectiveness.
4.4.2	Ask the Magistrate/s and the Registrar: Are the outcomes of business meetings and other matters of internal relations between Magistrate/s and other court staff regularly reviewed and reported to the Chief Magistrate and the Director, Local Courts?
4.4.3	Ask the Registrar what procedures are in place to review regularly the court's relations with government and other external agencies. Are there are procedures in place for each court to report to the Chief Magistrate on the following issues? issues of law reform; any aspects of Local court practice which have been the subject of government action or debate; aspects of practice which have been the subject of public debate or media comment.
5 Public Trust and Confidence
5.1.1	Ask the Registrar whether the court conducts surveys of users' satisfaction and perceptions of the court's compliance with standards. When did the court last conduct such a survey?
5.1.2	Ask the Registrar: When did the court users' forum last meet? Does it operate according to guidelines established by the Chief Magistrate?
5.1.3	Ask the Registrar: Does the court have a formal procedure for registering, dealing with and regularly receiving feedback. Is this known to all staff? How is it communicated to court users?
5.2.1	Ask the Registrar: How does the court monitor media reporting of its proceedings? What procedures are in place to assess and address any shortcomings in communication or the quality of information disseminated?
5.2.2	Ask the Registrar: Does the court have a policy on contact with the media which is known and respected by court staff and all media attending the court regularly? Is it consistent with the policies of the Attorney General's Department and Chief Magistrate?
5.3.1	The extent to which key groups in the local community are aware of the court's services is measured by comparing a simple survey of people coming voluntarily to the court (client surveys) with the profile of the local area which the court serves (Census data). Census data Data for court's catchment area (defined by the police stations bailing to that court - use nearest Local Government area boundaries): Adults who are: Aboriginal & TSI; born overseas in a non-English speaking country. This data is available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics or your local council. Client surveys With the aim of having about 100 responses each from civil claims and the Chamber Magistrate, the survey is to be carried out for one week (large courts) to four weeks (small courts): to commence before court visit. A simple slip is to be given to each unrepresented plaintiff in civil claims, and each client of the Chamber Magistrate. Why a Client Survey? Client Survey Insert the results of the survey and the Census data into the following table:

5.4.1	Check that court staff, information documents (pamphlets and posters) and door signs inform the public which courts are open to the public or that all courts are public except those marked 'closed court'.
5.6.1	Take samples of summons and other common forms. Check availability of explanatory materials in English and in community languages. Check readability of English versions, using a standard index scale (eg score >60 on Flesch Test - see R D Eagleson, Writing in Plain English (Canberra, AGPS, 1990). Consider the documents from the point of view of other tests proposed by Eagleson.
5.6.2	Carry out this survey in the court waiting areas on the day of the visit, in conjunction with the survey at benchmark 2.2.2. Clients who have been waiting for more than 2 hours for court should have been told by court staff how long they may expect to wait. [Two] hours after the start of the Registrar's callover (if applicable) and the Magistrates' court/s each group in the waiting areas is approached. Identify those who are parties waiting for court and administer the survey at 2.2.2. Use the model survey form Client Survey
5.7.1	Observe the Magistrates' and court officers explanation to unrepresented parties.
5.8.1	Observe the court house as it is approached by the public. Is the building clearly distinct from the police station? Does it have a separate entrance from the police station? Is it well removed from the police station? Do signs clearly distinguish it from the police station?
5.9.1	Observe how Magistrates, registrars and court staff deal with each other and with parties, witnesses, legal representatives and prosecutors. Is this done in a manner seen to be impartial, or are examples observed of: unnecessarily technical, formal or obscure language in-jokes; special relationships between the Magistrate or registrar and representatives of one side or another indicated by leaving the courtroom through the same door, or socialising in the public precincts of the court; personal conversation from the bench; special treatment of police or prosecutor at the counter
5.10.1	Has the peer review team invited court users to participate in or comment on this review? Ask the Registrar what steps are routinely taken to inform court users of the standards and benchmarks for client services, and the ways these may be reviewed.
5.10.2	What arrangements are being made to distribute a suitable version of the results of this review, agreed with the court personnel, for discussion at the court users' forum?

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Last Updated 10/02/01

Email: rmohr@uow.edu.au