THE COMPENSATION COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1933, Page 4

THE COMPENSATION COURT.

The complaints made to the. Minister of Justice, Hon. J. G. Cobbe, of delays in obtaining hearings of cases in the Compensation Court were well founded. The complaints came from all over the Dominion,' and the Minister was constrained to admit they were not without cause. To preside over the Compensation Court is one of the duties of the Arbitration Court judge, Mr. Justice Frazer, but unfortunately though his arbitration duties have been lessened by recent legislation they have been added to considerably by his appointment as chairman of the Transport Appeal Board. This year the board is hearing many cases which may not recur as the transport services settle down to the new conditions. But at present there is considerable delay in the determining of claims brought before ’the Compensation Court, a condition which is unsatisfactory to all concerned. The Minister was sympathetic, but could make no definite promises. Against the suggestion that Mr. Justice Frazer should be relieved of his duties in the Compensation Court by a Supreme Court judge there are the difficulties that all the judges are now working at high pressure, and that as the president of the Arbitration Court is an expert in industrial law, by which the claims brought before the Compensation Court are made possible, it is eminently desirable that he should hear those cases. The work of the Transport Appeal Board is of the utmost importance also. Its decisions can reduce or abolish without compensation businesses in which considerable capital and energy have been expended. It is essential therefore that its chairman should have the training and impartiality of a judge and should command the confidence and respect of the community. Of all legal claims compensation cases should be least delayed. They involve cases of personal injury or death, and delays can inflict a good deal of suffering as well as hinder a fair and reasonable settlement. It is not sound administration to make one portion of the community suffer because another requires the attention of a high official.