Message from the President

06/04/2020

Court remote technologies

The Bar Association continues to receive reports from members regarding the operation of court technologies in remote hearings and their functionality in different curial contexts. I would encourage members to continue to raise these issues with the Courts and also with the association so that we may have a clear understanding of the nature and extent of any such issues and address them on your behalf and that of the community.

Personal appearances in court

For those members who are still making court appearances in person, I ask them to continue to be vigilant about their personal health and that of those around them. The personal health of all those involved is paramount. Barristers should not hesitate to make their concerns known to the Court involved and to bring those concerns to the attention of the Bar Association.

Barristers appearing in the company of others in remote locations may also find themselves in situations that could be compromising in terms of their health, and that of other persons participating. Again, personal health comes first and those barristers should not hesitate to point out the difficulties arising in the particular circumstances to the Court, and if necessary to the Association.

COVID - 19 : Information for Attending Court

The New South Wales Bar Association’s consolidated guide to COVID-19-related court arrangements has today again been updated in terms of recent developments and includes:

• Federal Court of Australia – an updated National Practitioners/Litigants Guide To Virtual Hearings And Microsoft Teams and Special Measures note In Response to COVID-19- Admiralty And Maritime (Smin-2);

• A reminder from the District Court of NSW regarding arrangements for the hearing of civil matters. All the District Court’s announcements and procedures are available on its COVID-19 (coronavirus) page;

• Federal Circuit Court - COVID-19: Important information for migration applicants; and

• Children’s Court of NSW – Factsheet regarding Courtroom Meeting Space

Members are advised in this regard that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, please refer to the latest court resources directly as developments are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.

---