Judicial Commission of NSW Annual Report 2017-18

Judicial Commission of NSW — Annual Report 2017–18 12 Overview of the Commission President’s foreword The Honourable Tom Bathurst AC Chief Justice of NSW and President, Judicial Commission of NSW Commemorating 30 years of the Judicial Commission I am very pleased to provide the foreword to the Judicial Commission’s Annual Report for 2017–18. The report provides a helpful summary of the Commission’s activities and performance this year, as well as its strategic focus for next year. It also commemorates the Commission’s 30-year anniversary with a special feature on pp 2 and 7 reviewing the Commission’s operations over time, reflecting the character of this milestone as both a journey and an achievement. The anniversary culminated in a reception held in October 2017 at Government House, Sydney. It was an opportunity to reflect on the Commission’s evolution from controversial beginnings to its status as an invaluable institution for the maintenance of public confidence in the NSW judiciary. Criminal justice reform A major focus and challenge this year for the Commission has been responding to the NSW Government’s justice reform program. Significant criminal justice reforms commenced or will shortly commence in the areas of sentencing, committal procedures in the Local Court, post-sentence supervision, detention of high risk terrorist offenders, and parole. In addition, new offences have been introduced arising from the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse. The Commission has worked tirelessly to ensure judicial officers are informed about these reforms in a timely manner through seminars, conferences, publications and updating of the relevant loose-leaf services. Judicial education The judicial education program is multi- faceted, providing conferences, seminars, judicial skills workshops, publications and digital resources. It is designed to continuously renew judicial skills and provide timely information about changes to the law and court practice and procedure. The program has continued to achieve high satisfaction rates, with evaluations showing 93% judicial satisfaction during the year. The Commission also launched a new web page of videos and audio podcasts of select sessions to accommodate judicial officers who are unable to attend education sessions in person. The Commission launched a