04.02.10

Case Study: New Zealand Supreme Court

New Zealand’s new Supreme Court complex is a model of beautiful and highly functional architecture that uniquely blends a heritage structure with an iconic new building. But the new Supreme Court doesn’t just look stunning. It’s also the site of the most advanced digital evidence technology implementation in the country. Evidence Technology has worked closely with the Ministry of Justice throughout the multi-year building project. Our goal has been to ensure the court’s audio-visual capture and management system is optimised for the physical environment and for the needs of judges, lawyers, court staff and the wider public.

The court complex incorporates the historic Old High Court building as well as new construction, so Evidence Technology’s solution had to be sensitive to heritage values while also functioning effectively and reliably within the unusual spherical space of the new freestanding main courtroom.

Invaluable experience

Supreme Court Registrar Gordon Thatcher explains that Evidence Technology’s specialist knowledge of the requirements of court and hearing rooms proved invaluable as the building moved closer to completion. The company’s qualified audio-visual engineers brought their experience to bear to modify and refine the initial acoustic design to ensure the excellent digital recording quality that is required in a justice setting would be consistently and reliably achieved. “Evidence Technology has been supporting the Supreme Court in our current temporary location for the last four years, and their specialist services and expertise have been extremely helpful as we have worked through the design and fit out of the new Supreme Court complex,” says Thatcher.

“As well as installing the permanent evidence capture technology in the main courtroom, they have also designed a fully mobile system that can be deployed as needed in the No. 1 courtroom in the Old High Court. This provides us with modern, high quality digital evidence recording and playback facilities without compromising the heritage values of the building in any way.”

Video conferencing saves time and money

A key feature of the Supreme Court is the use of video conferencing technology to enable counsel to present submissions from remote locations. “We were one of the first courts in New Zealand to adopt video conferencing and that has provided enormous savings in travel costs and time,” says Thatcher. “As a national court, the Supreme Court often requires counsel from outside the Wellington region to present submissions. With the video conferencing set up, they no longer need to allow a full day’s travel to attend what may only be a one-hour hearing.”

“The system enables more than one location to be linked in simultaneously, so we can have lawyers in multiple cities around the country presenting their submissions remotely.” As the nation’s final appellate court, the Supreme Court doesn’t hear evidence as such, but Evidence Technology is also implementing video conferencing in a growing number of trial courts. In the trial context, video conferencing allows sensitive witnesses to give their evidence remotely, and also enables secure and cost-effective delivery of testimony from expert witnesses overseas. Pending a future law change, it could also make it possible to hear evidence remotely from people in custody.

Enabling open justice

An important goal in the design of the new Supreme Court was to realise the vision of open, transparent and inclusive justice, and this philosophy is reflected in Evidence Technology’s implementation. For example, while external cameras are not allowed in the courtroom, a state-of-the-art media room allows any member of the media to view a hearing in real time and to access the system to collect an audio or video feed for broadcast. In addition, 65-inch monitors have been installed in the foyer of the court complex, so members of the public can view proceedings without entering the courtroom.

Rapid, reliable evidence recording

The FTR evidence recording technology and transcription service also furthers the cause of open justice, as well as making court proceedings faster and more efficient. Transcribers can use both the audio and video feeds from a hearing to make the transcription process faster, with video being used to distinguish different speakers if more than one person is talking at once. In a trial situation, transcripts are delivered back to the court within about 30 minutes although such rapid turnaround is not usually required in Supreme Court hearings. Transcripts are provided to each Supreme Court judge to assist them in preparing their judgments and they can also access and replay the original video of the hearing if they wish. Full transcripts are also uploaded to the Courts of New Zealand website, where they can be freely accessed by anyone.

Sensitive to cultural needs

While enabling the public and media to have full access to proceedings both during and after a hearing, Evidence Technology’s implementation is also sensitive to the cultural aspects of the work environment.

For example, while seven cameras are deployed - one for each of the judges, one for counsel and one providing a more general view of the courtroom - these are concealed behind a darkened glass panel so they are very unobtrusive. Microphones, an infrared assisted hearing system, cabling and other equipment has also been installed in a way that minimises distractions.

For additional information regarding this project please contact:

John Abbott on +64 4471 1544 or email John at:

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