Reconciling the Goals of Minimising Cost and Delay with the Principle of a Fair Trial in the Australian Civil Justice System
(2014) 33(2) Civil Justice Quarterly 157
18 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2014
Date Written: October 7, 2014
Abstract
The main goal of this article is to consider the interaction and overlap between a statutory or rule-based Purpose Requirement and the principle of a fair trial because the interaction is of significance to not just litigants before the courts, but due to their fundamental nature, to Australian society more generally. However, this analysis can only occur once the role of a Purpose Requirement is comprehended. This article examines how Australian Courts of Appeal have interpreted the Purpose Requirement in their jurisdiction. Particular emphasis is given to New South Wales (NSW), the Federal Court of Australia, and the High Court of Australia’s consideration in Aon Risk Services Australia Ltd v Australian National University of the requirement in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The article seeks to draw these various provisions and judicial statements together to explain the function of a Purpose Requirement. The article then concludes by exploring how a Purpose Requirement and the principle of a fair trial interact with a view to explaining how these two concepts may operate in harmony.
Keywords: Legg, Australia, Case management, Civil procedure, Fairness, New South Wales, Overriding objective, Right to fair trial
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