While court buildings in Christchurch are within the central business district cordon and remain closed until further notice, the Ministry of Justice is ensuring essential justice services are delivered in Christchurch.

An arrest court and remand hearings are being run out of a temporary facility at Christchurch Men’s Prison, while other urgent criminal and civil matters are operating out of Rangiora District Court.

Arrangements are also in place for urgent Family Court matters.

The High Court in Christchurch is also operating with all matters able to be filed in the Wellington High Court Registry until further notice.

“Our first priority was making sure that our staff members were safe, and then getting these essential services operating, “Ministry Deputy Secretary Courts, Andrew Hampton, said.

“Like everyone, we face new challenges almost every day but are working very closely with local judiciary, lawyers, and our Corrections and Police partners to come up with practical short-term solutions, and also to consider the long term effects and how we will manage them.

“We are making sure that people who require urgent court decisions on family and civil proceedings are being processed, and providing urgent law and order services like bail decisions and remands,” Mr Hampton said.

The Ministry is leasing a property in the Sockburn area to help maintain the essential services and to provide a longer-term base for the local response team, which is currently working out of the Men’s Prison. Mr Hampton said it was also hoped that some public services may be able to be delivered from that location.

“We have a 24-hour freephone number that should be used for by anyone who has a question about Christchurch-related justice matters. Through the freephone line we can provide information relating to court matters, appearances, bail matters, fines or any other justice-related service,” Mr Hampton said.

Mr Hampton said the Ministry was using social media, its website and text messaging to support local managers stay in touch with staff, and a drop-in centre to help staff communicate with one another was now set up.

The Ministry of Justice freephone line is 0800 324 627. Further details about affected justice services are also available on the Ministry's website: www.justice.govt.nz.

ENDS

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