Late judgments

Although most courts and tribunals have their own systems in place for monitoring the timing of the delivery of reserved judgments, if a member of the Bar Association is concerned with a delay in a court or tribunal delivering a reserved judgment in a case where he or she acted, they can contact the president of the Bar Association in writing requesting that inquiries be made of the court or tribunal. In deciding whether a delay is unacceptable and warrants an inquiry to be made, practitioners should take into account any benchmark which the particular court may have set regarding the delivery of reserved judgments, for instance, the Federal Circuit Court has set a three month benchmark. Should a practitioner wish the president to make an inquiry, the following information should be provided:

• state or territory in which the case was heard;
• length of the hearing;
• name of the parties;
• number of the proceeding; and
• name of the judge(s) whose decision is reserved and the date the decision was reserved.

Without disclosing the identity of the practitioner, the president will make appropriate inquiries on behalf of a member regarding the delay with the court or tribunal. The president will notify the practitioner of the response from the court or tribunal, including any advice received regarding when the judgment is likely to be delivered. Please address correspondence to:

The President
New South Wales Bar Association
Selborne Chambers
174 Phillip Street
Sydney NSW 2000