Chief Justice Ian Kawaley has unveiled new rules for the Supreme Court, to help cases run more efficiently.Mr Justice Kawaley, who became Bermuda’s top judge in April, said the Criminal Procedure Rules will come into effect on January 1.He explained that the most important aspect is their overriding objective — to deal with criminal cases justly.The rules list issues such as dealing with the prosecution and defence fairly, respecting the rights of the defendant, witnesses, victims and jurors, and dealing with cases efficiently and expeditiously.“Parties will be obliged to assist the court to achieve the overriding objective,” explained Mr Justice Kawaley.“It is, I think, a bit of a philosophical shift away from the old-fashioned notion of the criminal trial process being wholly adversarial. It attempts to empower the court to make directions. I think it’s fair to say that the broad problem is a lack of cooperation between lawyers on either side with respect to procedural matters.”He said that could be resolved “by compromises in the interests of efficiency which do not prejudice the substantive merits of the case”“It’s always a challenge to get the right balance between allowing the parties to vigorously protect their interests and trying to press them to make practical concessions to achieve the objectives,” he explained.The rules set out how cases should be managed efficiently, such as “the early identification of the real issues” and “the early identification of the needs of witnesses”. They require a timetable to be set for each case and lawyers to discourage delays and make use of technology.Mr Justice Kawaley said the Department of Public Prosecutions and Bermuda Bar Council were consulted on the rules.Two defence lawyers — Mark Pettingill and Richard Horseman — offered their support to the move yesterday.Mr Pettingill said: “It’s quite sensible. I think there’s a lot to be said for having criminal procedure rules in place. A lot of these things we do sensibly now between the Crown and defence but it’s good to have these things structured.”Mr Horseman said: “Clearly the intent is to try to shorten cases and get to the real issues, and I think the intent’s really good.”However, he said he is concerned by the rule about having to “identify the real issues in the case” early and hold case-management hearings.“The defendant has the right to remain silent. A lot of times we don’t want to tip off the prosecution as to what the real defence issue is so this could be a real erosion of the defendant’s right to be quiet,” he noted.“These rules are to ensure there’s no wasting of the court’s time and that should be applauded to the extent that the prosecution doesn’t abuse it and doesn’t start reporting lawyers for not giving their client’s case away.”l A final draft copy of the rules which may be subject to minor changes before it is officially published has been attached to this story on www.royalgazette.bm.