District Court (District Court Judges) Amendment Bill
Government Bill
148—1
Explanatory note
General policy statement
This Bill amends the District Court Act 2016 to increase the maximum number of District Court Judges that can be appointed at any time from 160 full-time equivalents to 182 full-time equivalents.
Over the past few years, the District Court’s workload has increased significantly due to an increase in both the volume and complexity of the court’s work. As District Court Judges are required to deal with most cases, more judges are needed to help manage the increased workload.
In addition, the Youth Court’s jurisdiction has been expanded to include 17 year olds. Additional judges are required because the rehabilitative focus of the Youth Court is more resource-intensive than adult court processes.
Departmental disclosure statement
The Ministry of Justice is required to prepare a disclosure statement to assist with the scrutiny of this Bill. The disclosure statement provides access to information about the policy development of the Bill and identifies any significant or unusual legislative features of the Bill.
A copy of the statement can be found at http://legislation.govt.nz/disclosure.aspx?type=bill&subtype=government&year=2019&no=148
Regulatory impact assessment
The Ministry of Justice produced 2 regulatory impact assessments in 2016 to help inform the policy decisions taken by the Government relating to the contents of this Bill (to the extent that they relate to expansion of the Youth Court’s jurisdiction).
A copy of these 2 regulatory impact assessments can be found at—
Clause by clause analysis
Clause 1 is the Title clause.
Clause 2 relates to commencement. The Amendment Act will come into force on the day after the date of Royal assent.
Clause 3 indicates that the principal Act amended is the District Court Act 2016.
Part 1Substantive amendment
Clause 4 amends section 12(1) to increase the maximum number of District Court Judges appointed from time to time from 160 to 182. (District Court Judges, as specified in section 7(2)(a) to (c), are the Chief District Court Judge, Principal Family Court Judge, Principal Youth Court Judge, and other District Court Judges.)
Part 2Consequential amendment
Clause 5 makes a consequential amendment to section 12(2)(c).
Hon Andrew Little
District Court (District Court Judges) Amendment Bill
Government Bill
148—1
Contents
The Parliament of New Zealand enacts as follows:
1 Title
This Act is the District Court (District Court Judges) Amendment Act 2019.
2 Commencement
This Act comes into force on the day after the date of Royal assent.
3 Principal Act
This Act amends the District Court Act 2016 (the principal Act).
Part 1 Substantive amendment
4 Section 12 amended (Maximum number of Judges)
In section 12(1), replace “160”
with “182”
.
Part 2 Consequential amendment
5 Section 12 amended (Maximum number of Judges)
In section 12(2)(c), replace “159.5”
with “181.5”
.