Criminal Justice System: A Case Study

This paper acknowledges by research and observation the growing number of self-represented litigants and the impact that development is having on legal service providers and the administration of justice generally. It discusses the reasons why persons become self-represented, the difficulties they may face and the issues they may cause. It goes on to remedy the solution.

There is a huge influx of SRL in the justice system and it is difficult for them to achieve a fair and meaningful litigation due to the disparity in skills and knowledge between solicitors and counsel. This adds obligation pressure to the court to provide some advice (if not assistance) to SRLs. At times it is seen that due to SRL’s lack of understanding of the process,

In Arifin v Secretary, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs [2014] FCAFC 61 (Arifin), the unrepresented appellant failed to comply with rule 36.01(2)(c) of the Federal Court Rules 2011, which required him to state “briefly but specifically, the ground relied on in support of the appeal”.4 Whilst Arifin serves as a reminder that the rules of the court should be equally binding on all parties irrespective of whether or not they have legal representation, the Full Court of the Federal Court in SZRUR v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection[2013] FCAFC 146 (SZRUR) confirmed that the courts have an overriding duty to ensure that a trial is conducted fairly and in accordance with the law. 5 It is brought forward in the above two case laws, 6 that active adjudication is an important tool to promote both fairness and efficiency in administrative justice. In a number of Courts, the adjudicative model has begun to shift from a more traditional, passive approach to one in which decision-makers more actively adjudicate cases and direct the course of the proceedings. As seen in Childrens Court observation7, it was obvious to all that the SRL was oblivious to the court proceedings and how and what was required. This case was towards the final stage of the matter. It was supposed to run through a 5-day contested hearing, which to the surprise of all parties, Magistrate Zelmk propelled the case to a final conciliation. This was in favor of the SRL as she was waiting for her legal aid to be approved and running a contested hearing without representation would have been extremely detrimental. This supports the fact that "Self-representation is almost inevitably associated with parties who have poor knowledge of the substantive and procedural law. In disputes involving children, where the parties must