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However, budgetary constraints in the next few years may pose less of a problem than
might otherwise have been the case since there has been a marked decline in the
number of active cases going through the courts, even as compared with the date when
the Interim Report was published. The figures are set out in Appendix 4 and are no
doubt a reflection of prolonged economic recession. Thus, writs commencing
ordinary High Court Actions have declined from 22,482 in 1998, to 5,556 in 2001 and
4,865 in 2002. Commercial Actions have declined from 308 in 1998 to 73 in 2001,
increasing slightly in 2002 to 91. Similarly, cases in the Admiralty Jurisdiction have
gone down from 432 in 1998 to 246 in 2002. It is true that bankruptcies have shot up,
going from 1,637 cases in 1998 to 13,191 in 2001 and doubling again to reach 26,920
cases in 2002. Similarly, company liquidations have increased from 942 in 1998 to
about 1,400 cases in 2001 and 2002. However, the great mass of individual
bankruptcies and corporate liquidations tend to make small demands on judicial
resources. The huge call on judicial time arising from the right of abode litigation
have now subsided. Cases in the Constitutional and Administrative Law list spiked
from 112 and 162 in 1998 and 1999 to 2,767 and 3,869 in 2000 and 2001 respectively,
declining to 209 cases in 2002.
In brief, the pressures on the Judiciary of the "litigation explosion" which caused great
concern at the end of the last century have progressively eased, making it possible to
postulate that the proposed reforms can go forward without having to budget for any
substantial increase in recurrent expenditure.
Recommendation 150: Proposals 76 to 80, for making it essential that the
proposed reforms be supported by the allocation of adequate resources; by
proper training for judges and court staff (and members of the legal profession
and others concerned); by continuous monitoring and the implementation of
adjustments and changes as necessary; and by seeking efficiencies through the
use of information technology; should be adopted.
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