The Commission inherited this reference from the Committee as an incomplete project in 1973. When, in 1980, the Commission divided the reference into two parts it was decided that Part II, dealing with the enforcement of Local Court judgments, should be deferred pending results from statistical surveys and work that was being carried out on similar projects by the Australian Law Reform Commission and the New South Wales Law Reform Commission. Work on the reference began again in 1991, after the Commission and the Attorney-General held a meeting to review the priority of the Commission’s outstanding references. As a result of this meeting the reference was given high priority with the Government indicating a commitment to introduce legislation to reform procedures in this area.
Terms of Reference
In 1969 the Committee was given a general reference to review the Local Courts Act 1904 (WA) and the Local Court Rules 1961 (WA).
Outcomes
Following the release of the Commission’s final report a project team was established within the Courts Services Division of the Ministry of Justice to review the civil judgment debt recovery system in light of the Commission’s recommendations. In June 1997, the project team recommended the enactment of a new piece of legislation: the Enforcement of Judgments Act. In 1998 the Ministry of Justice Court Services Division indicated that the proposal for an enforcement of judgments Act was in the process of implementation. The third draft of the legislation was completed in 2000; however, its progress has since stalled.
