New specialised Court of Appeal to be formed under plans for major overhaul of SA legal system
An entirely new Court of Appeal would be created under a planned major restructure of SA’s highest court, which would see many of the state’s Supreme Court justices moving upward.
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A stand-alone Court of Appeal is to be introduced in South Australia in a major restructure of Supreme Court operations.
The new Court of Appeal will be headed by a president and an as-yet undetermined number of justices who will sit only in that jurisdiction and specialise in appellate work.
The move is expected to reduce the time taken for appeals to be determined, improve their quality and resistance to further appeal in the High Court, and enhance public confidence in the judicial system.
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman, who will introduce legislation to create the new court, said she believes “there is a case for greater efficiency and productivity of our superior court’’.
“Judges will be appointed to the Court of Appeal on a permanent basis, and as a result of only presiding over appeals, would develop specialist knowledge and skill,’’ she said.
“Presiding over an appeal is a different judicial function to that of a trial judge and this would allow for this expertise to be fully harnessed.’’
Identical courts interstate have up to five sitting justices, which if replicated in SA would see almost half of SA’s existing Supreme Court Justices moving to the new court.
Chief Justice Chris Kourakis is understood to be lukewarm over the move, but has already provided some advice to Ms Chapman on the likely structure of the new court after examining the draft legislation.
Ms Chapman said Chief Justice Kourakis, “like every other Chief Justice in Australia when it has been introduced, has not been overjoyed”.
“But he would remain under our structure as head of the Courts Administration Authority, he remains the superior, the most senior judge in the state,’’ she said.
SA currently has 11 Supreme Court justices, overseen by Chief Justice Kourakis.
Former Justice Ann Vanstone, who retired in June, has not yet been replaced while Justice Martin Hinton will shortly vacate the bench to take over as Director of Public Prosecutions.
Ms Chapman would not be drawn on when or if both would be replaced, or if extra resources were needed to fulfil the move, but pointed to her consistent record of filling vacated judicial positions.
“The population of the trial component, the appellate component and any extra resources required, they are all matters we will continue to confer with the Chief Justice,’’ she said.
“The Supreme Court last year had a significant reduction in work, but that fluctuates.
“I actually want it to be a more attractive court, to obtain more work than currently goes to the Federal Court.’’
The new Court of Appeal will replace the current system of appeals being heard by Supreme Court judges sitting on rotation on the Full Court of the Supreme Court — referred to as the Court of Criminal Appeal for criminal matters.
It would also handle appeals flowing from the South Australian Employment Tribunal and South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which are currently handled by the Full Court of the Supreme Court.
At present appeals from the Magistrates Court and tribunals are heard by a single justice. Appeals against decisions from the District Court or Supreme Court are decided by the Full Court, which consists of three judges.
“The appeals system is an important part of keeping our justice system fair by ensuring there is a process to challenge decisions, where there are grounds to do so,” Ms Chapman said.
“Appeal decisions are also a source of case or common law, setting precedents for the lower courts, so there are many potential benefits of this reform for our justice system.”
Ms Chapman said she believed there was a case for separating the functions of the Supreme Court.
“In a modern court which retains the confidence of the public, as the adjudicator and the appellate body, I think there is a case for separation,’’ she said.
“We need to not only be effective in what we do in the superior court system, but the public also need to have confidence in that.’’
Ms Chapman said she had been made aware there had been a high level of successful appeals in the High Court against appeal judgments in SA.
“A few years ago that was evident. It has been a concern out in the general legal arena,’’ she said.
“I am pleased to say on the data I have seen that situation has improved. The reputation of SA does rely on us, on the national stage, having quality government and administration and that includes the judicial arm.’’