Future Justice of the Peace (JP): Triangulating Doctrinal and Empirical Research for Evidence-based Reform of the NSW JP System

The role of Justice of the Peace (‘JP’) has had an enduring presence throughout society. It is often seen as a trusted gateway or interface between the justice system and the community. Despite this importance, very little academic or political attention has been paid to the role of the modern New South Wales (‘NSW’) JP. In the current scenario of legislative change and information technology innovation, the tasks of the role face the threat of redundancy.

This thesis presents the first comprehensive research into the contemporary role of the NSW JP. In essence, it analyses the tensions between their former, current and potential future roles. This research uses a qualitative multimethod approach that combines doctrinal, historical and empirical research and triangulates the resulting outcomes. To provide the legal framework of the role, this research contextualises the role within NSW and provides a brief historical analysis of the evolution of the modern NSW JP role; it also considers the relationship of the NSW JP role to JP systems in Australia and other countries. To provide an experiential base, this thesis also examines the perceptions of 27 NSW JPs concerning how the role is understood and functions in practice. The ‘outsider’ perspectives of two key professional stakeholders complements the analysis. This combined research provides verifiable evidence for policy decisions about the future of the 67,000 NSW JPs and possible functions in access-to-justice reforms.

Consequent to these findings, this thesis argues that there is a critical disconnect between the law, governance and the NSW JP, and it pinpoints areas for reform. To recalibrate to best serve the interests of justice in the modern legal system, the key recommendation is to align with Qld’s JP-specific system by embedding a governance framework and strategic plan that aligns with the Volunteering Australia’s National Standards for Volunteer Involvement. Second, reform is necessary in order to take advantage of what the NSW JP can offer as a volunteer resource and to simultaneously ensure the integrity of legal transactions, which would protect both the public and the JPs themselves. Within a JP-specific volunteer governance framework, the formal training and development of the NSW JP as an agile asset would open opportunities to redeploy NSW JPs to new service initiatives. Using a JP-specific volunteer governance framework approach would provide options for the government in the manner this valued resource can be deployed within changing access-to-justice initiatives while providing varying volunteer engagement options for the NSW JPs.

Through the lens of the multimethod approach, this thesis presents a comprehensive, multifaceted view of the modern JP in NSW, analyses the reasons that urgent reform is needed and offers evidence-based recommendations to enliven the ‘Future JP’.