Hon Peter Foss questions the Attorney General regarding the implementation of publishing court sentencing remarks online, including costs, timelines, and differences from existing judgment availability.

AnsweredQoN 1882Legislative Council
Asked
31 March 2004
Portfolio
Attorney General

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the newspaper article titled ‘Judges must justify rulings’ and the Attorney General’s comments that he expected the District and Supreme courts to start the practice next year, with other courts, including the Children's Court, expected to follow -
(1) Who are the members of the working party?
(2) How often have they met and when?
(3) When does the Attorney General expect to publish the reasons for a sentence on the Internet?
(4) What is the expected cost of implementing this service?
(5) How does it differ from the present availability of judgments on the internet?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
5 May 2004
Responded by
Minister for Housing and Works representing the Attorney General
Response time
35 days
(2) The Committee has met formally on two occasions. Further meetings are scheduled depending on the availability of Judges. (3) The commencement of the publishing of sentencing remarks on the Internet is a matter for the judiciary. However, a Bill is currently being drafted to provide statutory protection for judicial officers placing sentencing remarks on the Internet. (4) The expected cost of implementing this service will be dependent on the exact nature of the Bill, if passed by Parliament, in terms of the extent to which the sentencing remarks will need to be edited. (5) Whilst judgments are currently available on the Internet, transcript of Judges’ sentencing remarks is currently not so available. Once this service is implemented, these remarks will be available on line for a limited time.
(3) The commencement of the publishing of sentencing remarks on the Internet is a matter for the judiciary. However, a Bill is currently being drafted to provide statutory protection for judicial officers placing sentencing remarks on the Internet. (4) The expected cost of implementing this service will be dependent on the exact nature of the Bill, if passed by Parliament, in terms of the extent to which the sentencing remarks will need to be edited. (5) Whilst judgments are currently available on the Internet, transcript of Judges’ sentencing remarks is currently not so available. Once this service is implemented, these remarks will be available on line for a limited time.
(4) The expected cost of implementing this service will be dependent on the exact nature of the Bill, if passed by Parliament, in terms of the extent to which the sentencing remarks will need to be edited. (5) Whilst judgments are currently available on the Internet, transcript of Judges’ sentencing remarks is currently not so available. Once this service is implemented, these remarks will be available on line for a limited time.
(5) Whilst judgments are currently available on the Internet, transcript of Judges’ sentencing remarks is currently not so available. Once this service is implemented, these remarks will be available on line for a limited time.

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