InBrief

In this�speech, which�was delivered at the Judicial Conference of Australia on 5 October,�the Hon A M Gleeson AC, chief justice of Australia,�observes that, "Delay can be both a form and a cause of injustice".

Delay in the legal system, he said,�"is like inflation; it feeds on itself. Just as in financial markets, inflationary expectations, when factored into planning, themselves contribute to further inflation, so courts and lawyers build upon expectations of delay. Delay, like inflation, is sometimes convenient for those who are part of the system; altering expectations and reversing trends may cause pain. Yet there comes a time when that is necessary."��

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5 October�2007