The Courts Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 – introduced to speed up the finalisation of cases and improve efficiency in the ACT courts – passed the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

Under the changes, interlocutory orders will become binding on subsequent trial judges and pre-trial disclosure of expert evidence will be compulsory.

But ACT Bar Association President Shane Gill says the bill will force an accused person to help the prosecution convict them.

Attorney-General Simon Corbell said it had balanced the rights of the defendant and the interests of justice.

Mr Corbell said the bill amended a number of different acts and supplemented other measures to streamline court operations.

"The new legislation is a sign of the government's continued commitment to improving the justice system," Mr Corbell said.

"Appeals from pre-hearing orders made by the Master of the Supreme Court will now be heard by the Court of Appeal rather than a single judge.

"This recognises the authority of judicial officers hearing pre-trial matters and prevents matters being re-litigated without sufficient cause."

Mr Gill said the changes degraded the trial process in the territory.

Mr Gill, in an opinion piece published earlier this month, has spoken out against the bill, saying the changes were part of a "slow but inexorable undermining" of the ability of an innocent person to defend themselves.

The barrister said the ability of a person to defend against an allegation had eroded over the past 15 years through a series of changes to the way criminal cases were heard.

Mr Gill noted that a member of the government, ACT Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury, had also expressed concerns about the changes, saying the act "potentially undermines arguably the most fundamental principle of our criminal justice system; that it is for the prosecution to prove the case against the accused".

In response to the bill's passing, Mr Gill said: "These are matters the Bar has clearly identified in the legislation, but which seem to have been given only passing consideration by the Assembly."

Mr Gill said the ACT justice system now ran a higher risk it would convict an innocent person.

"The act tramples upon long standing protections designed to deliver fair trials in the name of efficiency," Mr Gill said.

"Imposing trial regimes that are unfair undermines the delivery of just outcomes by risking the conviction of the innocent.

"Unfair trials are never efficient [and] our community never benefits by the conviction of the innocent."

Other less controversial changes include changing the title of the Master of the Supreme Court to Associate Judge, and a number of amendments to the Coroner's Act.

The amendments would allow the coroner to establish a coronial investigation scene and issue orders to police, enable police to collect and preserve evidence at the scene in circumstances where powers under the Crimes Act are unavailable, and simplify the requirements for reporting fires to the court.

"Allowing coronial investigations to run smoothly ensures the deceased and their families are treated with dignity and respect," Mr Corbell said.