Courtside This issue - The Law Society of Tasmania

From the CEO
It is significant that we start Courtside
for 2007 by acknowledging the work
and dedication of some of our staff
members through the Chief Justice’s
Australia Day medallions.
The fact the Court has so many
worthy recipients each year is
testimony to the dedication and
commitment of Court staff.
I would like to extend my
congratulations to Stephen, Peter,
Dennis, Susan and Elizabeth. There is
a feature on these recipients and their
excellent work on pages 1 and 4.
Looking more broadly, the work of
the Court is often acknowledged by
the interest international courts show
in learning more about our systems
and programs.
As some of you may be aware,
members of the Irish Court
Services (pictured below) visited
the Court last month. Their Chief
Executive Officer, PJ Fitzpatrick and
Information and Communication
Director, John Coyle, met with
myself and other members of staff.
They also met with the Chief Justice.
The Irish Court Services are just one
of many courts from around the
world that have shown an interest in
the work of this Court.
Other international delegations have
included members of the Indonesian,
Chinese and Singaporean court
systems. These groups come to
Australia to learn more about our
jurisdiction and take those learnings
back to their own countries.
Topics of interest are usually
broad and range from information
technology, court governance, case
management, alternate dispute
resolution to more specialist policy
projects such as the Mental Health
Support Program, cultural diversity
and family violence.
They are also interested in the
legal initiatives of the Court such
as the Magellan Program and Less
Adversarial Trials.
In recent years judges and senior
staff members of the Court have
taken part in overseas delegations to
assist with the development of other
court systems and deliver training in
areas of Australian expertise.
It is a two-way process, and this
Court also seeks to learn from other
jurisdictions around the world.
RICHARD FOSTER
For example in 2003, the Family
Court’s examination of courts
in Western Europe, particularly
Germany, led to the development
of the Children’s Cases Project pilot
and what ultimately became the
Less Adversarial Trial.
The Family Court of Australia is
a world leading Court on many
fronts and all staff should feel proud
our work is being noticed and
acknowledged widely.
National Support Office
staff members meet with
members of the Irish Court
Services.
Back: Stephen Andrew and
Sue Lynch of NSO.
Front: CEO Richard Foster
with PJ Fitzpatrick and John
Coyle of the Irish Court
Services.
Family Court of Australia
7