News

Supreme Court to continue publishing submissions online

In early 2022, the Supreme Court introduced a practice of publishing written submissions, chronologies, and outlines of argument for appeal hearings in the Supreme Court, with only limited exceptions. The practice was introduced as a trial, subject to review in light of the experience of its operation in its first year.

Recently the Chief Justice sought feedback from the profession, which was overwhelmingly positive. Because of this, the Court has now decided to continue the practice of publishing written submissions, chronologies and outlines of argument on an ongoing basis.

The 2022 trial was governed by the Supreme Court Submissions Practice Note 2021. A new practice note will now govern the ongoing practice, the Supreme Court Submissions Practice Note 2023. This has some minor changes from the 2021 Practice Note reflecting submissions made by professional organisations in response to the request for feedback.

The significant amendments are:

• The requirement for certification from counsel that submissions are suitable for publication (para 6(2) of the Practice Note) has been amended so that counsel are asked to certify “to the best of their knowledge” rather than on the unconditional basis provided for in the 2021 Practice Note;
• The provision relating to the Court’s power to direct that the practice will not apply to a particular case has been amended to contain an example referring to the situation where the submissions will need to refer to extensive suppressed or confidential information, making compliance with the Practice Note impractical or unduly burdensome.

The Supreme Court Submissions Practice Note 2023 can be found at Supreme Court Submissions Practice Note — Courts of New Zealand.