19 December 2013

Simon announces his vision splendid for the Supreme Court

| johnboy
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concept drawings

Simon Corbell has announced his grand vision for a new ACT Supreme Court building:

The Government will replace the ACT Supreme Court building, with preliminary procurement work to commence in early 2014, Attorney-General, Simon Corbell, announced today.

“The Supreme Court is a landmark building in the Territory and an important symbol of the judicial arm of government. The existing building recently celebrated its 50th anniversary; however the agingbuilding can no longer provide the standards of security and public amenity which is required of such an important civic building,” Mr Corbell said.

“The planning for the new ACT Courts Facilities has been comprehensive and has had to take into account a number of factors including heritage issues, planning requirements, and the requirements of the Territory’s judicial system now and 50 years into the future. These considerations have driven the concept design which will be used as a reference for the full design of the facility.

“A number of key heritage features of the existing building will be preserved. The facade will remain on three sides, preserving the existing view of the building from University Avenue. The interior of the existing building will be replaced and a new wing fronting Vernon Circle will be constructed, linking the building with the existing Magistrates Court across three levels.

The new facility will include the following features:

— eight new courtrooms;

— five jury deliberation rooms and a secure jury reception and orientation area;

— expanded single custodial facility;

— single public entry point and counter;

— best practice child and vulnerable witness facilities;

— public cafeteria which will link the two existing building at the Knowles Place frontage;

— capacity to construct additional courtrooms in future years as demand increases with population growth; and

— best practice environmental measures supporting sustainability and respecting the heritage interpretation.

“The new ACT Courts Facilities are expected to be delivered through a Public Private Partnership agreement, the first in the Territory’s history. Work to develop an expression of interest proposal will begin early in 2014. It is expected that the new facility will be operational towards the end of the 2017-18 financial year,” Mr Corbell said.

UPDATE: The Law Society has expressed its pleasure.

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A_Cog said :

c_c™ said :

You do realise criminal law makes up only a small proportion of the court’s work load, and that a large part of it is civil law.

Do you realise this new whiz-bang facility will include:
– eight new courtrooms;
– five jury deliberation rooms and a secure jury reception and orientation area;
– expanded single custodial facility;
– best practice child and vulnerable witness facilities;

Sounds like crim justice infrastructure to me.

And if civil actions are flooding the courts, maybe it shows all the ADR stuff could be working better (looking at YOU, ACAT !!! )

Juries do civil too. Sounds like multipurpose infrastructure to me.

IP

“You do realise criminal law makes up only a small proportion of the court’s work load, and that a large part of it is civil law.”

OK, Build a razor wire fence around the ACT border that separates us from NSW and the rest of Australia. Which side of the fence do you want the Criminal Law outcomes to reside?

c_c™ said :

You do realise criminal law makes up only a small proportion of the court’s work load, and that a large part of it is civil law.

Do you realise this new whiz-bang facility will include:
– eight new courtrooms;
– five jury deliberation rooms and a secure jury reception and orientation area;
– expanded single custodial facility;
– best practice child and vulnerable witness facilities;

Sounds like crim justice infrastructure to me.

And if civil actions are flooding the courts, maybe it shows all the ADR stuff could be working better (looking at YOU, ACAT !!! )

A_Cog said :

Will Batman spend money on expanding the AMC?

Will this reno result in more custodials, rather than the current weak sentencing?

Does Batman even care?

The courts wouldn’t need a reno if there weren’t so many repeat visitors.

You do realise criminal law makes up only a small proportion of the court’s work load, and that a large part of it is civil law.

It actually makes sense to utilise the existing security in the magistrates courts.

Will Batman spend money on expanding the AMC?

Will this reno result in more custodials, rather than the current weak sentencing?

Does Batman even care?

The courts wouldn’t need a reno if there weren’t so many repeat visitors.

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