Dr Saskia Righarts

Professional Practice Fellow

LLB, BA(hons), PhD

Saskia joined the faculty in 2008 after obtaining her doctorate on the cross-examination of child witnesses. Saskia continues to research in the area of law and psychology and is presently working on several projects on users experiences in our courts and tribunals, and outcomes for those involved in litigation.

Research Interests:

Law and Psychology, Empirical Legal Research, Litigation Processes and Outcomes

Recent Publications:

• Righarts, S., & Henaghan, M. “Public Perceptions of the New Zealand Court System: An Empirical Approach to Law Reform” (2010) OLR 12 (2) 329-344.
• Righarts, S., & Henaghan, M. “Delays in the Civil Justice System: Opinion Versus Fact” (2011) OLR 12 (3) 455-472.

Refereed Conference Proceedings:

• Righarts, S . 4 th International Conference on Innovation, Education and Research, Madrid, Spain (November, 2011). Conducting empiricial legal research: A view from down-under
• Righarts, S ., & Henaghan, M. American Psychology Law Society Conference, Miami, USA (March, 2011). Law reform efforts down-under: Have people fallen out of the bottom?
• Righarts, S . Law and Society Association of New Zealand and Australia Conference, Wellington, NZ (December, 2010). Expectations and experiences in the legal system: The need to give some thought to the litigants in law reform efforts.

Conference Presentations – other (invited addresses):

• Righarts, S. Disputes Tribunal Annual Conference 2011, Auckland, New Zealand (November, 2011). Resolution of civil disputes: The value of formal adjudication processes.
• Righarts, S. Civil Litigation in Crisis: Beyond the Crisis Conference, Auckland, New Zealand (September, 2009). New Zealander's views of our court system: Preliminary data from a large nationwide study.

Recent Reports:

• Civil Case Progression Times in New Zealand [2011 pdf report] (Rachel Laing, Saskia Righarts, Mark Henaghan), which was launched at parliament, April 2011.

E-mail: saskia.righarts@otago.ac.nz
Room: 9.N.6 Richardson Building
Phone: 03 479 4961