Division of Labour in the Courts: Balancing Values in Changing Times

Opeskin, B

Division of Labour in the Courts: Balancing Values in Changing Times

Opeskin, B

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Publisher:: Australian Academy of Law
Publication Type:: Chapter
Citation:: Enduring Courts in Changing Times: Celebrating the 2024 Bicentenaries of the Supreme Courts of New South Wales and Tasmania, 2024, pp. 393-408
Issue Date:: 2024-04-01

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	(2024) Opeskin - Specialisation of Judges AAL Book (FINAL).pdf	Published version	3.16 MB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Opeskin, B https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9393-3592
dc.date.accessioned	2024-07-03T04:07:05Z
dc.date.available	2024-07-03T04:07:05Z
dc.date.issued	2024-04-01
dc.identifier.citation	Enduring Courts in Changing Times: Celebrating the 2024 Bicentenaries of the Supreme Courts of New South Wales and Tasmania, 2024, pp. 393-408
dc.identifier.isbn	978-0-6453769-1-3
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/179702
dc.description.abstract	Since the Industrial Revolution, the division of labour has been regarded as a central means of enhancing economic productivity, but do these benefits accrue to the adjudication of legal disputes? The rise of judicial specialisation in Australia suggests it has allowed the courts to adapt to changing times, marked by growing social complexity and heightened expectations of the role of law in regulating social order. Yet specialisation comes with risks. This paper argues that the impact of judicial specialisation should be assessed against the fundamental values of the judicial system, namely, access to justice, cost-effectiveness, impartiality, procedural fairness, just outcomes, and public trust. Using these values as a yardstick, the paper concludes that, through careful institutional design, hybrid specialisation can deliver significant benefits while mitigating potential downside costs.
dc.format.extent	34
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Australian Academy of Law
dc.relation.ispartof	Enduring Courts in Changing Times: Celebrating the 2024 Bicentenaries of the Supreme Courts of New South Wales and Tasmania
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.title	Division of Labour in the Courts: Balancing Values in Changing Times
dc.type	Chapter
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	true
dc.date.updated	2024-07-03T04:07:04Z
pubs.place-of-publication	Sydney
pubs.publication-status	Published
dc.location	Sydney

Abstract:

Since the Industrial Revolution, the division of labour has been regarded as a central means of enhancing economic productivity, but do these benefits accrue to the adjudication of legal disputes? The rise of judicial specialisation in Australia suggests it has allowed the courts to adapt to changing times, marked by growing social complexity and heightened expectations of the role of law in regulating social order. Yet specialisation comes with risks. This paper argues that the impact of judicial specialisation should be assessed against the fundamental values of the judicial system, namely, access to justice, cost-effectiveness, impartiality, procedural fairness, just outcomes, and public trust. Using these values as a yardstick, the paper concludes that, through careful institutional design, hybrid specialisation can deliver significant benefits while mitigating potential downside costs.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/179702