Courts are further from meeting their targets to clear case backlogs than they were seven years ago, with litigants in the Family Court and those facing criminal charges in the NSW District Court among the most likely to languish in the justice system.

The release of the Productivity Commission's annual justice report for 2017-18 follows long-awaited recognition by the NSW Government that the justice system was under pressure and the appointment of seven new District Court judges in December.

New NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman appointed seven new District Court judges in December. Credit:Louie Douvis

It indicated that only 60 per cent of criminal cases in the NSW District Court were completed within 12 months, well below the 90 per cent benchmark.

In the NSW Supreme Court, around 80 per cent of cases were completed on time.