Since the release of commissioner Bigge’s report — and the other judicial reports that have followed, acknowledging limits on “measuring judicial productivity, describing and documenting the work of our courts” remains “an extremely valuable exercise”, according to the Chief Justice.

“The sheer range and volume of work undertaken by our judges, magistrates and administrative tribunal members is remarkable and unlikely to be fully appreciated by members of the public and, indeed, many practising lawyers, working as most do in particular and specialised areas of the law and not necessarily or closely familiar with other areas,” His Honour said.

“For that work to be understood and properly valued in our community, it must be identified and explained. The rule of law depends in large measure upon confidence in our courts and trust in the integrity, competence, diligence and independence of our judges and magistrates. In an age of seemingly poor civic awareness coupled with the disturbing and sinister spread of disinformation, a bright light should regularly be shone upon the work of the judiciary and its societal importance so that it is understood and appreciated.

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“Documenting trends in judicial activity is essential for proper planning and provisioning in our judicial system, including in relation to personnel and facilities. Increased burdens placed on courts are burdens ultimately placed on the individuals who sit as judges and magistrates. As with many fields of endeavour, we have become more astute to pressures placed on judicial officers both through the volume and nature of the work imposed,” His Honour added.

In terms of the state of the judicature in NSW since “the Bigge Report” was released, Bell CJ said that the volume of work is set to continue to steadily increase.

“In the Supreme Court, civil claims for compensation arising from institutional abuse have exploded, with over 1,600 cases of the latter kind filed in since detailed monitoring commenced in 2016, the volume having increased by almost 60 per cent last year compared to 2021. Whilst a good number of these cases have settled, as at mid-December 2022, 24 are listed for final hearing this year,” Bell CJ added.

“We unfortunately also anticipate a very significant growth of work in the possession list this year with the likely continued rise in interest rates likely to be productive of extreme mortgage stress, exacerbated by the end of the COVID-related moratorium on actions for possession, and as borrowers come to the end of locked-in and historically low fixed interest rates.”

Averaged over the last three years, the Court of Appeal and Court of Criminal Appeal together delivered 650 judgments a year, with the Court of Criminal Appeal regularly hearing three and sometimes four appeals a day, according to Chief Justice Bell, who added that there were also certain areas with notable growth.

“In the District Court, in 2022, the percentage of sexual assault trials compared to all trials was almost 50 per cent, up from 32 per cent in 2016. The complexity of sexual assault trials has also resulted in an increase in the average trial duration in Sydney from 11.79 days in 2016 to 14.42 days in Sydney in 2022. The work of the District Court will no doubt be increased with the introduction of the important coercive control reforms by the state legislature in November 2022,” His Honour noted.

“In the Local Court in 2021, 358,109 criminal matters were commenced, and 351,407 criminal matters were finalised, representing a 27.75 per cent increase in the jurisdictional caseload since 2011, and this comparison does not take into account that 2021 was, of course, a COVID year. This represents a huge volume of work.”

Ten new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court in 2022, comprising an equal number of male and female judges — something that has been vastly improving over recent years, with 10 of the last 17 appointments to the District Court being female. 

“There is ever-increasing diversity in the legal profession, as is demonstrable at the admission ceremonies of new practitioners, which I conduct on at least a monthly basis. That diversity will permeate the profession and, ultimately, the judiciary, as it has already begun to do. This is a good thing for a number of reasons,” His Honour added.

“As I say in my admissions speech to new practitioners, diverse representation amongst solicitors, advocates and judges assists in ensuring that all people who become involved in our justice system can (and feel that they can) be properly heard and fairly engaged with by a system reflective of our broader community. It is bound up with building trust in and respect for both the judiciary and the legal profession more generally.”

And post-pandemic, Bell CJ said that despite the challenges arising from COVID-19, “the courts and tribunals of New South Wales continued to provide access to justice ... with great dedication and versatility” and expressed his “admiration and sincere gratitude” to judiciary members and court staff.

“The pandemic presented numerous challenges to the administration of justice, including the suspension or regular disruption of jury trials and the closure of public registry counters due to the risk posed by the virus. Court staff and judicial officers alike responded with ingenuity and flexibility by hearing matters remotely where possible or adopting COVID-safe protocols throughout court premises,” His Honour said.

“In my assessment, in 2023, we have a dynamic, robust, independent, respected, collegiate and extraordinarily hard-working judicature in NSW that upholds and promotes the rule of law in its daily work. The ability of the NSW courts to perform their critical role in our society and to perform it well is in no small part a function of the competence, skill, integrity and professionalism of those practitioners, whether solicitors or barristers, who regularly appear in them.”