Minister for Courts Chester Borrows announced last September a six-month trial of web-based video conferencing, involving real Family Court cases, would take place involving lawyers from Oamaru, Balclutha, Alexandra and Invercargill.
However, Mr Borrows said yesterday the technology would now be tested by the Family Court in Whangarei, as Otago and Southland judiciary were ''not comfortable'' with the concept.
''This is very disappointing, as it denies the people of Otago and Southland the real benefits video conferencing can bring,'' Mr Borrows said. ''While no new IT project is completely without risks, we should not let that stop us proceeding carefully but resolutely forward ...''
Mr Borrows said a North Shore judge would take up an audiovisual link (AVL) whereby lawyers could sit in their office with their client and communicate with the judge and court staff and have uncontested matters dealt with. The trial would also link Whangarei judges to the Kaitaia and Kaikohe District Courts, and there was a possibility
two other ''hub'' courts elsewhere could also join the trial. The pilot scheme was an ''intermediate step'' to the introduction of web-based technology in court.
''I am hopeful that once the pilot is under way, and its effectiveness and reliability have been demonstrated, that the Otago judges will be happy to join the lawyers and judges who are already supportive of our exploration of the potential this technology holds.''
A mock trial utilising AVL and involving then principal Family Court judge Peter Boshier as well as lawyers from Otago and Southland took place in November, and some of those involved said the technology had a future. Balclutha-based lawyer Noel O'Malley said audiovisual technology ''had merit'' in some real-life cases.
''It's an alternative to people travelling distances to have court time.
''At the present time it certainly has its limitations in terms of what the judges would like to have available to them, but for some parts of the process, it could have merit.
''But I suspect there is a bit of water to go under the bridge yet to sort out how that would work,'' Mr O'Malley said.
Queenstown lawyer Dale Lloyd said although the technology had a future, the November mock trial had thrown up issues that needed to be ''ironed out''.
She said it had been unclear whether anyone else was present, either with the judge or with the lawyers.
''That is a real concern, particularly in the Family Court, where there is a prohibition on publication generally ... We need to make sure that we can maintain the integrity of the system with any new technologies that we implement.''
