According to the Equal Justice Project, 56% of civil matters were conducted by a self-represented litigant, an increase from 51% in 2017 and 47% in 2014.Self-Represented Litigants: An Exploratory Study of Litigants in person in the New Zealand Criminal Summary and Family Jurisdictions,[2] finding that self-representation varied across New Zealand Courts, ranging from a few individuals a year in some courts to 30-50 individuals a week in others. Most self-represented litigants faced care of children (‘COCA’) or domestic violence (‘DV’) cases, and over half appeared as Respondents with few appearing as Applicants. The most suggested reason for self-representation was cost.[3] The complex and multifaceted nature of New Zealand’s legal system, usually requiring a minimum of four to six years of full-time study before an individual can be admitted as practising lawyer, can be daunting and confusing for a self-represented litigant who is often required to adopt a ‘do your best and learn as you go’ approach. So, what guidance can be given to individuals who are self-represented?

ACCESS TO REPRESENTATION AND NAVIGATING WITHOUT

Legal Aid

In September 2021, I wrote a blog post titled ‘New Zealand’s Legal Aid Gap’[5]

So, with that being said, the first piece of guidance for those who are self-represented is: check to see whether you are eligible for legal aid, and if you are, consider making an application. Useful links for this are:

1. https://www.justice.govt.nz/courts/going-to-court/legal-aid/get-legal-aid/can-i-get-family-or-civil-legal-aid/, which provides you with the legal aid application forms for civil or family legal aid alongside some information.
2. https://www.justice.govt.nz/courts/going-to-court/legal-aid/get-legal-aid/can-i-get-criminal-legal-aid/apply-for-criminal-legal-aid/ which provides you with the legal aid application for criminal legal aid alongside some information.
3. https://www2.justice.govt.nz/find-a-legal-aid-lawyer/ which is a search tool to find legal aid lawyers in your area. Note that if your matter is a criminal matter, you can complete the legal aid form and take it to the duty lawyer at your local court who will file it for you, but if your matter is civil or family, you will need to find an available legal aid lawyer in the relevant area before you can file your application.

As a brief but important note for those considering applying, legal aid is not necessarily free. Depending on your income and assets, legal aid sometimes requires you to repay some or all of your legal aid fees. If your case is one where you may receive some money out of it (relationship property division, for example), legal aid may also deduct the fees from that final amount. However, this is circumstance and individual specific, and each recipient of legal aid does have the option of applying to ask legal aid to waive the need for repayment.  

New Zealand Pro Bono

If an individual falls within the legal aid gap, it would be open to them to enquire about pro bono assistance. Community law centres can refer a client to the Te Ara Ture Pro Bono Service https://www.tearature.co.nz/refer-a-client (individuals cannot directly refer themselves) or individuals can reach out to lawyers privately to see whether they are able and willing to take their matter on pro bono. I am fortunate to be registered as a pro bono provider, alongside my employer Chris LaHatte, with Te Ara Ture. For lawyers who wish to register themselves or their firms, you can do so here: https://www.tearature.co.nz/

The second piece of guidance for those who are self-represented is: check in with your local community law centre and see whether they are able to refer you to the Te Ara Ture Pro Bono Service or contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau or Pou Whirinaki Service for general advice and assistance. Useful links for this are:

1. https://communitylaw.org.nz/our-law-centres/, which lists the location and contact details of community law centres in New Zealand.
2. https://www.cab.org.nz/what-we-do/, which provides an explanation and contacts for the Citizens Advice Bureau.
3. https://www.wclc.org.nz/our-services/pou-whirinaki/, which provides services and assistance to Māori.

JustAnswer

If an individual requires general legal advice on a matter, or (as mentioned below) needs general assistance on required documents or process, the JustAnswer Service offers quick basic-level legal advice for a modest fee (dictated by the site itself, rather than the lawyers it contracts with). For transparency, my employer answers legal questions on this website, which is how it came to my attention as an option for those who are self-represented.

The third piece of guidance for those who are self-represented is: check out other services that are free or cheap that will give you some guidance on what your rights are and what needs to be completed.

Databases

The documentation, process and approach differs across Court type (District Court, Family Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, and Tribunals), matter type (criminal, family, civil, employment, tenancy, as examples) and is often impacted by the particular facts and evidence in each individual case. Making an Application for a Protection Order in the Family Court requires an Application, Affidavit, Information Sheet, and sometimes a lawyer’s certificate or Memorandum. Alternatively, making an Application for an Interim Injunction in the High Court (civil) requires an Application, Statement of Claim, Affidavit, Draft Order, often times a Memorandum in support. Each action or task requires a different set of documents, changing based on the issues and factual situation, that must be compliant with the relevant Court’s Rules and the legislation applicable to the action or task.

As a newly practicing lawyer (admittedly, I still classify as a ‘newly admitted lawyer’ to many with just under 2 years PQE under my belt), it was confusing and sometimes overwhelming to understand what was required for what, in what format, and why. It is something that you learn with experience, I am told, which I can accept as someone pursuing a career in law, but what about those self-represented litigants who step foot in the Court for the first time and don’t plan on ever returning?

The fourth piece of guidance for those who are self-represented is: if it is within your financial means to do so, the following may assist you in navigating the documents that need to be filed:

1. Westlaw (my personal favourite) is a subscription service that gives you access to legislation, cases, commentary on legislation and cases, and a number of other resources. Importantly, it has a “forms and precedents” section (right hand side on the website open page) that shows you templates of most generic documents that need to be filed with a Court for each type of application. You can pick by topic ‘ie Family Precedents’ or ‘Civil Precedents’ and then search for what you are looking for using the ‘Cntrl F’ function. University Students (or at least students at Victoria University, where I attended) will have access to Westlaw for free via their student portal. This may provide helpful guidance if you are confused about what documents need to be filed.
2. Lexis Nexis also provides a similar subscription service as above.  

You can also access materials for free on:

1.  https://www.legislation.govt.nz/ (legislation)
2. http://www.nzlii.org/ (previous court/tribunal decision)
3. https://www2.justice.govt.nz/careofchildrenform/ (form generator for care of children matters)
4. https://www.justice.govt.nz/about/form-finder/ (general form finder)

So, if you’re thinking “help! I am self-represented”, it is important to note that there are a number of options available to you to get assistance in navigating the court system, ranging from legal aid representation to a DIY crash course through online resources and assistance. Some of these options, of course, give rise to the issues of access to justice, which is an extremely important topic requiring its own separate post in the near future…  

J C R Cooper

Employed Barrister

[3] A note that this study was limited to family and criminal matters, and did not include civil or tribunals.