I  was  heartened  to  find  that the Ministry of Justice in New Zealand recently identified several projects in their three year work programme which will focus on measures such as  better  lay  access  to  legal  information,  use  of  alternatives  such  as  mediation,  police diversion and restorative justice, simplification of court processes and judicial led case management. Substantial  work  has  been  undertaken  in  various  developed  countries  on  most  of  the issues  I  have  discussed.    The  New  Zealand  Law  Commission’s  work  was  informed  in particular by law reform reports and initiatives on civil and criminal process reform in the  UK,  Australia,  Canada  and  the  USA.    Where  significant  changes  were  advocated and implemented, there was often initial resistance.  Respect for tradition and a cautious approach  are  necessary  attributes  of  the  practice  of  law.    But  there  is  no  turning  back from  reform  as  was  seen,  for  example,  with  civil  procedure  in  the  UK  or  criminal procedure in Victoria, Australia. One initiative that may be of particular interest for some Pacific countries is work done by  the  Centre  for  Court  Innovation  in  New  York,  USA.    They  have  developed  and implemented   a   concept   of   first   level   “community   courts”   with   a   problem   solving approach.  The Red Hook Community Justice Centre in Brooklyn, New York, has not only  shown  it  is  possible  to  deliver  swift  and  effective  justice  and  follow  up  with support for the people involved, it has also been a catalyst for practical improvements of conditions in a difficult and depressed urban community. That sort of concept is capable of adaptation to different environments and cultures. We thought it would allow, for example, courts in communities with strong Polynesian and