Lawyers to hear small claims?

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33929, 23 August 1975, Page 21

Lawyers to hear small claims?

A suggestion that lawyers could be the persons to hear disputes in the small claims court: (proposed in a bill soon to go before Parliament) has been made by the New Zealand Legal Association.

In most cases it should not be necessary for lawyers to play a part in the proceedings as advocates for either party, but the use of lawyers to hear the disputes would ensure that the arbitrator was qualified, said the chairman of the association (Mr A. J. Forbes) His association welcomed the announcement by the Minister of Justice (Dr Finlay) that the bill to establish small claims courts would be before Parliament soon, as it had been four years since the Secretary for Justice had said the present provision for small claims

. hearings was quite unsatisfactory, said Mr Forbes. | “Lawyers are aware of the | dissatisfaction both within i the business community and among members of the public as to the cost and delays involved in endeavouring to recover debts and arguing disputes under the present court system. “Faced with the possiI bility that the cost of recovering a debt might very well exceed the amount in dispute, many people often decide to abandon any attempt to recover a debt due to them. Nor is the situation i satisfactory to lawyers, who! are freqeuntly obliged to hcarge quite uneconomic fees for their services in endeavouring to recover small debts.

“But more important, the public interest requires that something be done about the present situation where “commercial parasites” can evade payment of numerous small debts simply on the knowledge that it is unlikely

that their creditors will bring proceedings against them to enforce recovery,” he said.

1 1 “On the other hand, people are sometimes in- ! dined to pay a debt which they genuinely dispute or are not happy about rather ithan risk the possible costs of defending any proceedings ; brought against them,” said Mr Forbes.

1 Although Dr Finlay had not released any details of ! the proposed small claims court, if lawyers were to play a regular part in the proceedings as advocates it would defeat the purpose of the proposal that the procedure be kept informal, quick and cheap, he said.

“In most cases neither party to a dispute should require legal representation. However, it might be important that the right to legal representation is reserved if the matter is a complex or difficult one. “It may be that the role

which lawyers should play/ in the scheme will be as the; persons who hear the disputes,” said Mr Forbes.

“Any lawyer hearing any 1 claim would be able to cail in witnesses qualified in any particular field to assist him if necessary, Dr Finlay’s bill might also provide for hearings to take place outside normal court hours in the same way as has been suggested recently for criminal cases.

“While there would be ■ some difficulties in this, it J would have the advantage of ■ reducing the cost to the par- ■ ties by having their dispute g determined without them ■ having to take time off i work.

“If the person hearing the J disputes is legally qualified ■ and if he takes an active ■ part in the hearing, then J this should ensure that ■ people who are not very i articulate in expressing * themselves are not prejudiced,” said Mr Forbes.