Dunedin jury trials have been held in Invercargill since the Dunedin courthouse was partially closed in December after an engineer's report revealed the court's tower was only 15% to 20% compliant with earthquake standards of the building code.
Ministry of Justice deputy secretary of courts and tribunals Robert Pigou yesterday said it had secured an "interim court facility" at 184 High St, but it was too early to say when trials could be held there.
"The priority is to get a jury courtroom operating in Dunedin as soon as we can, which means secure custodial facilities will also be included as part of the fit-out.
"We are currently in the early stages of design, and will be taking all possible steps to progress as soon as possible," he said.
Until plans were finalised it was "too early" to say when it would open and how much it would cost.
A ministry spokesman confirmed the four Dunedin judges, on Friday afternoon, were taken to the site, which had housed Sport Otago until it moved to the refurbished former art gallery at Logan Park earlier this month.
Minister for Courts Chester Borrows said he was "very pleased" the ministry had secured a site.
"I know that the need to travel to Invercargill over the past few months has been challenging for the Dunedin legal community.
"I appreciate both how frustrating this has been at times, but also the patience and understanding they have shown as the ministry works to find the best way forward for the Dunedin courthouse," Mr Borrows said.
Dunedin barrister Anne Stevens said setting up a new facility was a waste of money when trials should still be held in the closed part of Dunedin's main courthouse.
It was a widely held view among the city's legal community that it was "not necessary" for the courtrooms to be closed while the ministry tested the building's earthquake strength, she said.
"We just find the [ministry officials] in Wellington a mystery, [based] on their theory this town should be shut down," she said.
However, she said having the new facility would be a "vast improvement" over holding trials in Invercargill.
As at the end of August, 13 Dunedin jury trials have been held in Invercargill.
The ODT has asked the Ministry of Justice the cost of holding those trials in Invercargill, including travel, accommodation and time for all parties, but it said it did not record that information. That was despite the parties having to apply to the court for reimbursement of costs.
Mr Pigou did not answer a question about how long earthquake strengthening work could take, but in an earlier response to questions under the Official Information Act request, district courts acting service design manager Sue Little said any structural work on the courthouse would "take time" and they were not near the stage of starting that work yet.
She said the ministry had spent, as at August 30, $22,566 (excluding GST) on the seismic assessment of the courthouse, but was still working on exactly what needed to be done to strengthen the building.
All options were still being considered and no detailed design solutions had been studied.
The results of a geotechnical survey would be a critical part of determining what engineering work needed to be done, she said.
Any remedial work would "take time" because of the structural complexities of the courthouse and its category 1 Historic Places Trust listing, she said.
