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The Victorian Bar and Law Institute of Victoria have delivered a forceful response to a proposal to split the Court of Appeal.
In an announcement that stunned the Victorian legal profession, the Coalition said it would split the Court of Appeal into two and appoint specialised judges to a standalone criminal appeal court.
Along with former police officer and Mordialloc Liberal member Paul O’Halloran, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson fronted the media on Sunday, 23 August, to claim Victorians were “sick of watching offenders walk into our court system and get a slap on the wrist”.
“We have a plan to keep Victorians safe, we have a plan to ensure that our court system and our criminal justice system actually meets community expectations,” Wilson said.
Victorian Bar president Fiona Ryan SC said that while increased resourcing would be welcome, there were “many aspects” of Wilson’s proposal that remain unexplained and made without consultation.
Ryan said the Court of Appeal “already does vital work”, and it was not clear how the split would improve the administration of justice.
“Victorians are fortunate to have a judiciary that is independent and apolitical, and which applies the law enacted by Parliament without fear or favour, and without any regard to their personal views.
“That independence is essential to the rule of law,” Ryan said.
The suggestion that specialised judges could be appointed to influence outcomes in criminal appeals was “condemned in the strongest terms”, with Ryan explaining it was the “anathema to the separation of powers, which is the foundation of community confidence in the independence of the courts”.
The Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) similarly welcomed an injection of further resources but has criticised the rhetoric “designed to question the effectiveness of the justice system”, and in particular judicial expertise and discretion on issues such as sentencing and bail.
While the community may have expressed concern about rising crime rates, the LIV was clear that data has shown that increased sentences, new offences, and changing bail conditions do not reduce crime.
The LIV added that it was concerned about the suggestion that a new court was needed to ensure predetermined outcomes “that suit the government of the day”.
“The independence of the judiciary and of our court system is a fundamental pillar of our democracy,” LIV president Tom Ballantyne AccS(PI) said.
“Government interference in judicial decision making, whether directly or indirectly, is something that has had significant negative consequences overseas but must be avoided at all costs in Australia.
“The courts must be allowed to function independently to be effective as a check and balance on government overreach.”
