Animated videos on court process
THE University of Otago Legal Issues Centre has helped produce a series of animated videos which aim to break down barriers to justice faced by people representing themselves in the courts.
Centre Professional Practice Fellow Allie Cunninghame said court processes could be ‘‘foreign and alienating for many’’, and the videos aimed to ‘‘demystify the court room’’.
The centre has joined forces with the Auckland Community Law Centre to develop the videos.
The nine videos include explanations of where to go to get help with a legal dispute, the different ways a person can be represented, and civil legal aid.
Ms Cunninghame said research conducted by the centre showed people found it hard to access information about the process of bringing or responding to a civil dispute.
The practice of law, particu larly in the courts, also required an understanding of technical legal language and many unwritten or hardtofind rules of conduct and procedure.
These were ‘‘significant barriers to justice in the civil system’’.
Litigants without a lawyer could feel at a substantial disadvantage because lawyers knew information that was ‘‘not readily available to members of the public’’, she said.
‘‘We hope that the animations will help to demystify the court process,’’ she said.
The first nine videos were a positive development, ‘‘closing that gap in terms of access to justice’’, she said.
‘‘It’s an important step towards demystifying the court process,’’ she said.
The centre also wanted to help the public to understand some of the steps in civil court disputes, and some of the terminology and rules used by the courts.
The Ministry of Justice had sought to help unrepresented litigants by providing more information about the court process on its internet site.
The Otago animations offered clear explanations that summarised and supplemented that textbased information, making it more accessible, she said.
The videos had been animated by recent Otago media and communications graduate Jacinda Kumar.
Otago law and history student Bayden Harris had helped with background research and script writing.
The videos are available on YouTube.