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(b)
Monitoring
How the reforms fare after they are introduced should be continuously kept in view,
with a willingness to effect changes where these are desirable. The Judiciary should,
of course, maintain a vigil internally and should take the initiative to make
adjustments as required.
There should also be a body appointed specifically to monitor the performance of the
reformed civil justice system, recommending any changes, including broad changes of
policy, considered beneficial.
It should be made up of judges, masters and
representatives of the legal profession, of interested government departments such as
the Legal Aid Department and the Department of Justice and of other, non-
governmental court users. It should receive and channel to the Chief Justice feedback
on the reforms from professional bodies and associations. Its brief should include
reporting on the sufficiency and allocation of resources.
Statistics should be systematically collected to assist in the monitoring process and
helping comparisons, pre- and post-reform, to be made. The Judiciary should conduct
an internal review of the nature and scope of the data presently being entered into the
court's computer system with a view to identifying any further items which should be
captured. This is not an easy task since it is difficult to predict the questions which
may turn out to be relevant to future monitoring activities and, accordingly, what data
will be needed for the answers.
The monitoring committee may, for example, wish to examine the impact of the
requirement for leave to appeal in interlocutory appeals. It may ask: Are most leave
applications made to the judge at the original hearing How many require a further
hearing In what percentage of cases does the CFI judge grant leave What about the
Court of Appeal How many interlocutory appeals go to the Court of Appeal as of
right And so forth.
Notes
Along the lines of the Civil Justice Council established by the Access to Justice Act 1999, charged,
inter alia, with keeping the civil justice system under review.
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