An effective legal system must aim to resolve disputes within a reasonable time frame because excessive delays can increase the cost of legal proceedings and impose hardship on parties and witnesses. Improving court processes and procedures and increasing resources may reduce delays in the legal system

The nature of civil claims  Some civil cases experience delays due to the nature of the claim and the type of evidence required by a plaintiff to succeed in the action. For example, in some negligence cases, plaintiffs must wait many months or years until the full extent of their injury or loss has become apparent before they can establish sufficient evidence to prove their claim. Complex civil pre-trial procedures  Complex civil pre-trial procedures, including pleadings and discovery, can increase the time it takes. For example, discovery may take many months or even years in complex cases because parties may exchange thousands of documents in an attempt to ascertain vital evidence.  Some parties might even use discovery to deliberately stall proceedings in an attempt to frustrate the opposing party and place them under financial pressure.

The adversarial nature of civil trials  strict and complex rules of evidence and procedure eg heavy reliance on verbal evidence and the inability of witnesses to give evidence in their own words ; the inability of the judge to call for evidence and call and question witnesses under the adversary system of trial. A lack of resources  Despite various reforms being introduced to deal with civil disputes in a more timely manner — including a more efficient use of technology to assist case management — however a lack of government funding for judicial appointments, legal aid and court infrastructure upgrades continue to contribute to delays. For example, the fragmented location of Supreme Court services, including judges' chambers being located in different areas and associate judges being accommodated outside the main court complex, caused delays and contributed to inefficiencies.

Criminal trial procedures  the adversarial nature of trials.  The use of a jury to determine the verdict in criminal trials can also increase the length of a trial and cause delays. Increasing caseloads and complexity of cases  Increasing caseloads remains a significant problem facing the court system, causing delays and placing pressure on court resources. For example, number of cases being heard, the number of criminal appeal cases being heard by the courts continues to rise, there has been an increase in the complexity of matters coming before the courts (especially the Magistrates' Court), which has increased the time it takes to resolve a case. A lack of resources

Delays in the hearing of cases can impact upon all those involved in the legal process and limit the effectiveness of the legal system. For example, delays can:  increase the cost associated with taking a case to court, and deter individuals from accessing the court system and pursuing their rights.  cause emotional stress and hardship for parties. For example, defendants who have been denied bail who are subsequently acquitted suffer the loss of their freedom and can endure great economic and emotional hardship.  reduce the reliability of witness testimonies if they are unable to accurately recall past events while under examination by legal counsel.

 Increased use of ADR within the court system ◦ attempt to resolve civil cases prior to trial and reduce delays ($17.8 million between 2008–09 to 2012–13 to enhance the use of ADR) ◦ funding had been used to provide judge-led mediation, ADR coordinators and increase the use of case conferences to resolve disputes prior to trial in the county and supreme courts. ◦ 2011 the Supreme Court expanded the role of associate judges to include conducting trial work and mediations

Improved court processes and procedures  For example, in 2011, after the commencement of the Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic.) significant changes were made to modernise and simplify civil processes and procedures in Victorian courts and tribunals. Changes included ◦ increasing the role of the courts in case management, allowing the courts to impose stricter time limits on discovery and greater penalties for those who deliberately stalled discovery, and increasing the role of the court in facilitating the resolution of disputes prior to trial through the greater use of ADR (including mediation).  The Civil Procedure Act also imposed new pre-litigation requirements on parties in an attempt to resolve civil disputes. For example, parties must now undertake reasonable action, including exchanging appropriate pre-litigation information and documents, and genuinely attempt to resolve their dispute through negotiation or ADR prior to litigation commencing. The Supreme Court introduced a new case management system for criminal appeals by identifying the grounds of appeal more quickly. The court has also increased the use of two-judge sentence appeals and now allows judgements to be verbally conveyed, rather than in written form, to help speed up the appeal process. The introduction of a self-represented litigants' coordinator to help assist self- represented parties In 2009 the Victorian Government passed the Criminal Procedure Act to simplify and modernise criminal procedures. One change that was implemented was the imposition of time restraints on various criminal pre-trial processes. For example, trials must generally be held within three months of an accused being committed to stand trial.

More efficient use of technology  electronic filing, storage and exchange of documents between parties and the courts and tribunals.  Introduction of the sentence indication scheme  In 2010 the sentence indication scheme was permanently introduced to allow judges in criminal cases to indicate to defendants the likely sentence they would receive if convicted in an attempt to encourage defendants to enter an early guilty plea and in turn receive a sentencing discount or reduction in their sentence. The scheme aims to reduce the number of cases going to trial and allows other cases to proceed more quickly.

 Increase types of offences to receive infringement notices  In 2011, the Victorian Government passed the Justice Legislation Amendment (Infringement Offences) Act 2011 (Vic.) to increase the use of infringement notices (fines) to reduce the number of hearings for summary offences in the Magistrates' Court and reduce pressure on court resources.  Can be issued by police for a range of more complex summary offences, including offensive behaviour, wilful damage of up to $500, shop theft of up to $600 and a range of alcohol-related offences such as consuming, supplying or possessing liquor on unlicensed premises.

Adapt the strict rules of evidence and procedure  The strict rules of evidence and procedure could be modified in the following ways in an attempt to reduce delays, improve access to the legal system by reducing the cost and stress of litigation, and assist the achievement of a fair and unbiased trial: ◦ allow a greater use of written evidence (particularly from expert witnesses) to reduce the time and cost involved in having witnesses attend court and give evidence. It is difficult to assess the reliability of written evidence, however, because it cannot be cross-examined. ◦ allow judges to impose time limits on the questioning of witnesses in court (the Victorian government is currently implementing this reform in civil cases). ◦ expand the role of the judge to allow them to call and question witnesses and assist self-represented parties with the presentation of their case, which may decrease delays and assist a fair hearing.

Further increase judicial appointments and infrastructure spending ◦ appointment of more judges and court personnel. For example, the County Court needs more judges to reduce the growing backlog of cases caused by the increasing complexity of cases and increase in sexual offence trials. ◦ Increased court infrastructure could also allow the provision of more court sittings in regional areas Abolish committal hearings  Abolishing committal hearings and sending an accused directly to trial would decrease the time it takes for criminal cases to proceed to trial and reduce the workload of the Magistrates' Court and legal counsel who prepare for such hearings. Increase police and forensic testing facilities

Reform the jury system  abolishing the use of a jury in civil trials could reduce the length of trials.  introduction of majority verdicts (11 jurors in agreement with the verdict) in all criminal cases may reduce delays  Appointment of special masters to assist the civil pre-trial stage  VLRC 2008 Civil justice review recommended that judicial officers or senior legal practitioners be appointed by the court to act as ‘special masters’ to provide assistance and support to parties involved in complex cases during the discovery stage. This reform may help to speed up the discovery stage in complex cases; however, the cost of engaging special masters would most likely be borne by the parties.  Introduce an Office of Self-represented Litigants  In addition to having a self-represented litigants' coordinator in the Supreme Court, an Office of Self-represented Litigants could be created to improve support for self-represented parties at all courts by providing legal advice and assistance to those unable to afford legal representation.