Chief Justice Helen Murrell warned budding lawyers at an admission ceremony at the ACT Supreme Court on Friday of the dangers of dependence on the ACT government, which administers the court system.

Chief Justice Murrell said recent attention had focused on the issues of reserved judgments and backlogs, which were being addressed as quickly as possible.

But she said the bigger issue was acquiring complete independence from government control.

''The more fundamental challenge that we face is a structural challenge - the encroachment of the executive and the threat that it poses to our judicial independence,'' Chief Justice Murrell said.

''We must draw a bright line between the executive and the judiciary. The best way to do that is by according self-administration to the courts.''

Chief Justice Murrell said the issue was more acute in the ACT than elsewhere because the jurisdiction was so small.

''If the judicial arm of government is one of the pillars of our democracy, then the legal profession is the foundation of that pillar,'' she said.

''We … depend upon you to defend the independence of the judiciary from the encroachment of the executive.''

The call is an indication Chief Justice Murrell intends to continue championing a cause popular with her predecessor, retired chief justice Terence Higgins.

He used an admission ceremony in April to advocate the establishment of a courts services board, which would manage the court system autonomously.

Chief justice Higgins said the ACT courts had freedom from interference, but were still reliant on the government.

The ACT Auditor-General has twice recommended a governance model that would increase administrative independence.

But the ACT government rejected the advice, arguing the autonomous system would duplicate public sector functions and cost more money.

Chief Justice Murrell also used Friday's speech to take aim at the ageing court infrastructure, which the government has promised to upgrade.

The Supreme Courthouse turned 50 in May.

''It is more than three decades since I was admitted to the profession in this very courtroom,'' Chief Justice Murrell said.

''I pray that I don't have to say 'this very courtroom' for much longer.''

The government has allocated $650,000 towards the work and Attorney-General Simon Corbell revealed in June that a public-private partnership to redevelop the precinct was being investigated.

Public-private partnerships are infrastructure projects that are funded and operated by government and private-sector companies.

Mr Corbell said the expanded complex would serve the community for the next 50 to 80 years and construction could begin as early as 2015.