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This series documented the functions of the Courts Division of the Department of Justice.

This series consisted of Courts File series 1 covers the administration of the Courts with sub-series which cover special projects such as the review of fines or administrative services performed by the Courts Executive for statutory bodies such as the Legal Aid Board. They include the minutes and agendas of the Courts Consultative Committee.

File series 2 cover policy and operational material on Courts Activities and include correspondence between the Courts Executive and Courts Registrars about policy and procedures.

File series 3 covers the Justice System and includes information on broad policy and procedural issues.

Some records in this series remained in use and were not closed for several years after the establishment of the Department of Courts in 1995. When Courts was absorbed by the Ministry of Justice in 2003 considerable overlap occurred between the various record classification systems used by these government agencies.

This series incorporates the Planning Division's corporate information such as parliamentary questions and replies; Secretary for Justice's files, including some files on the appointment of Judges and Planning Division files about management events, such as the Department of Justice's planning and funding of its organizations .

The EM prefix was also used by the Electoral Department / Chief Electoral Office for some files relating to electoral management. These are listed under series 7602.

This sereis consists of operational files documenting the Justice Department's public relations strategy in general as well as the policy on, and approaches to, specific events, such as the electoral referendum on MMP or the Department's involvement in the 1990 'Sesqui' celebration in Wellington.

Some file titles are misleading; eg. 1-11-1 Management - EEO Policy in fact contains information about the publication of a pamphlet for Departmental officers about interacting with deaf people. Other files document routine publication activities and contain printers' quotes, galley proofs and distribution lists.

This series consists of personnel files of staff who were employed by the Department of Justice (up to 1995) and the Ministry of Justice (after 1995).

Personnel records consist of the full personnel files for the top two tiers of management in the and service schedules for other staff after their cessation of service. The service schedules provide information such as service start and resignation dates, promotion and exchange within the organisation.

Some card/files do not have close year dates as there was no Last Date of Duty noted on the card/file.

The Office of the Chief Executive maintained a records classification system separate from the main recordkeeping system of the Ministry of Justice. Many of the records in this series were of a confidential nature, dealing primarily with the appointments of judges, ministerial relations, and other senior administrative matters.

The exact opening and close dates of this series have not been formally determined. Earlier records date from the 1980s and were incorporated into this series. Similarly records were opened in 1994, just prior to the formal establishment of the Ministry of Justice in 1995. Series 8062 - Executive Management Multiple number subject files [EM Prefix], was the predecessor series and there is considerable overlap between the two entities.

This series documented the functions of the Property Mangement Division of the Department of Justice and its successor the Ministry of Justice.

Some records in this series remained in use and were not closed for several years after the establishment of the Department of Courts in 1995. When Courts was absorbed by the Ministry of Justice in 2003 considerable overlap occurred between the various record classification systems used by these government agencies.

The Department of Justice maintained a large number of courts houses and other buidlings throughout New Zealand. The files in this series cover all facets of property management including design, acqusition, construction and maintenance.

This series documented the functions of the Finance Division of the Department of Justice.

Some records in this series remained in use and were not closed for several years after the establishment of the Department of Courts in 1995. When Courts was absorbed by the Ministry of Justice in 2003 considerable overlap occurred between the various record classification systems used by these government agencies.

The files in this series covered budgets, accounts, expenditure, grants and other aspects detailing the financial management of a large government department.

Large number of records were created by the Justice Department and the Department of Courts that were not formally incorporated into the agency's recordkeeping system.

The considerable organisational change from 1995 to 2011 resulted in considerable overlap between the Justice Department and its successor agencies the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Courts. Many records were top numbered, remained open, or were not formally incorproated into a formal system of agency file classification.

This artificial series was created to cover these records which encompass a range of subjects relevant to the administration of the New Zealand's justice system.

Large number of records were created by the Justice Department that were not incorporated into the agency's recordkeeping system. Many departmental functions were dispersed and or reassigned, especially during organisational change, resulting in records created outside the agency's main recordkeeping system.

This artificial series was created to cover these records which encompass a range of subjects relevant to the administration of the New Zealand's justice system.

This classification list covered all employees of the Justice Department as at 30 September 1995 - just prior to the merger of the department into the Ministry of Justice.

Each entry includes the follwing details:

• Name

• Occupational Class

• Sex

• Date of birth

• Date of Appointment

• Educational Qualifications

• Designation

• Location

• Salary

• Old Increment Date

• New Increment Date

A record was kept for all permanent employees, summarising his or her service with the Department of Justice. The card used was common to other Government agencies and usually recorded changes in job position (classification) and salary movements. The following details were found on the staff cards in this series:

Name

Date of Birth

Date of Appointment

Date Service ceased.

Marital Status

Educational Qualifications

Job Designation and Occupational Class

Place

Department

Other comments

Surnames beginning with E and F are missing in the post 1985 alphabetical sequence.

A single alpha-numeric file classification system was introduced by the Ministry of Justice to encompass all parts of its organisation at Head Office level. Record keeping systems used by its predecessor agencies were discontinued at various stages as the new Ministry became established after 1995.

The core functions of the Justice Department (and the Department of Courts after 2003) continued with the new Ministry and some earlier records remained open. These records were incorporated into the new alpha-numeric system.

This series was the main correspondence series for the Department of Justice from circa 1913. This is the approximate date when the Justice Department moved from the annual number filing system to a multiple number subject file system.

Series 8957, comprising four volumes of classification lists, provides an overview of the J-prefix files and can be used to access files based on subject.

Series 500 also includes some top-numbered files from the Prisons Department annual number files, the Justice Department annual number files and series 7404 Multiple Number Subject Files [ADM Prefix]. This accounts for the holdings dating outside the series start and finish dates.