header-logo header-logo

COVID-19: Digital justice in tribunals

05 April 2020
Issue: 7882 / Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Profession , In Court
printer mail-detail
Tribunal judges have embraced the switch to video hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Judicial Office provided examples last week of remote justice in practice in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Care Standards (CS) jurisdictions, and the Tax Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.

Fully video hearings are taking place in the SEND and CS jurisdictions. Judge Meleri Tudur, Deputy Chamber President in Health, Education and Social Care said planning has been put in place to ensure digital bundles are available weeks in advance. All hearings can be held remotely, and a team of 15 registrars are poised to take over remotely should the office move to a skeleton staff.

Judge Tudur said feed back to date has been ‘very positive’.

‘Many of our hearings have eight or ten participants, as well as the panel. Some local authority representatives are finding it difficult to join by video using corporate laptops because of firewalls, but every Kinly video hearing room has a dedicated telephone number permitting them to join by phone if they don’t have a video facility.’

Video hearings are also working well in the Tax Chamber, where Judge Barbara Mosedale has been able to preside over hearings from her home. Currently, fully video hearings can only accommodate the judge and four participants, and cannot be recorded. However, the Judicial Office said it hopes to increase participation to seven participants plus the judge, and to make it audio recordable, by mid-May.

Issue: 7882 / Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Profession , In Court
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
back-to-top-scroll