Media

Crusader lashes litigation

The Australian - 17 February 2006
By Chris Merritt

TONY Fitzgerald is probably best known as Queensland's famous corruption buster. But during a 40-year law career Fitzgerald has also been a judge of three courts: the Federal Court, the Queensland Court of Appeal and the NSW Court of Appeal.

And after all that experience, he has reached an extremely unflattering opinion about the process of litigation. Here's what he said during the week: "Litigation is now widely regarded as a deficient process concerned solely with fault, with an inherent tendency to entrench positions, perpetuate grievances and damage relationships, excessively complex, directly and indirectly over-expensive, slow, time-consuming, stressful and risky, with no real certainty other than that there will be at least one loser.''

Like many of the nation's most prominent former judges, Fitzgerald is now a mediator, so he has an interest is pointing out the shortcomings of litigating. But with his track record, there must be something to what he says.

He was speaking at the launch in Sydney of a handbook for the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators.

We gratefully acknowledge the permission from Chris Merritt and The Australian to reprint this article.