The new independent courts system will provide more accessible, community-friendly services and alleviate delays in cases being heard, Supreme Court judge Mrs Justice Denham said yesterday. The judge told The Irish Times that a courts' conference held to examine how the service could be operated had been a "very successful and historic weekend".
The conference in Killiney, Co Dublin, was attended by representatives of the court services including the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Hamilton, judges, lawyers, registrars, stenographers, civil servants, members of Victim Support, and trade unionists.
It was organised against the backdrop of the new Courts Service Bill published last week which will provide for the setting up of an independent agency to manage the courts system. It combined keynote addresses by speakers from the US and Australia with workshops and tutorials on how the service can be carried out.
Following the conference, Mrs Justice Denham, who chaired the Working Group on a Courts Commission which set out the framework for the new courts service, said that although they had looked at systems in other countries, the new proposed service in the State was uniquely Irish.
The aim was to move towards new structures with modern management techniques, teamwork and partnership. "I see it as a journey which started some time ago and this has been an important station along the way."
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, had indicated that the Bill would be dealt with speedily. The last government was supportive of it so the Bill should be passed in early 1998 with the new board in place by the middle of next year.
The judge said the Bill, when it became law, would lead to more accessible and communityfriendly services, which would enable decisions to be made faster. The ultimate aim would be that justice would be done quickly with no delays. "Justice delayed is justice denied," she commented.
Representatives of the different sections of the court services would be continuing to work away on the issues to support the developing courts service. The conference had been attended by people who worked in every level of the courts.
"The bottom line is that we will have efficient, effective courts, to deal with justice speedily," Mrs Justice Denham said.
The conference, entitled "Managing for Excellence in a New Courts Service" was organised by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the working group.
The Bill provides that the Courts Service will assume the current responsibilities of the Minister of Justice in relation to the functioning of the courts. A board will be established consisting of 17 members including the Presidents of the Supreme, High, Circuit and District Courts and will be chaired by the Chief Justice.
Responsibility for the day-today management of staff and the administration and business of the service will fall to the chief executive. The board will also have responsibility for providing information and facilities to the public and maintaining buildings.
The working group had recommended that steps be taken to legislate for the new courts service. Its report had found that the present administration of the judiciary system was "cumbersome, unwieldy, and outmoded" and had produced crippling inefficiencies.
The conference was opened by the Minister for Justice, who said the Courts Service Bill provided for the most fundamental reform of the management of our courts in the history of the State.