Annual Report 2016-17

Judicial Commission of NSW – Annual Report 2016–17 30 Results 2016–17 Our mission is to promote the highest standards of judicial performance and decision-making and consistency in sentencing. Our online information provides a basis for current, timely and accurate judicial decision- making: see p 33. 1.614 million total page hits indicate the substantial usage of JIRS: see p 36. 238 Recent Law news items were published on JIRS to inform judicial officers about new legislation and significant cases: see p 40. We published a 2-volume monograph on sentencing for environmental crime and a major study on sentencing in the Local Court: see p 33. Judicial officers were informed about changes to criminal law, procedure and sentencing through 7 updates to bench books: see p 40. JIRS is constantly enhanced and replenished to ensure its currency and accuracy: 10 enhancements were implemented during the year: see p 38. Challenges 2016–17 • Keeping up with the sheer volume of case law and legislation. • Completing a large-scale study of sentencing for environmental crime. The year ahead 2017–18 • Communicating the significant and impending legislative reforms to sentencing law • Substantially revising our internal systems used to collect and disseminate sentencing statistics • Balancing core work with requests for sentencing information and advice from other criminal justice agencies • Keeping abreast with the law, posting recent law items on JIRS and the consequent updates to the bench books. Prominent image on previous page: the cityscape surrounding the St James Court Complex showing the blend of the old and the new with the Supreme Court building in the background behind the original Greenway cupola of the old Supreme Court (1820–1828) designed by ex-convict architect Francis Greenway in the St James Court Complex.