header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
17 May 2019 / Alec Samuels
Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Technology
printer mail-detail

Delegation, delegation, delegation

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Alec Samuels discusses the delegation of minor judicial tasks to staff
  • The court reform programme.
  • The conferring of wider powers, namely minor judicial powers, on the staff, both in the civil and the criminal courts.
  • The rise of technology and digital revolution.

The government is pursuing the court reform programme, with £1bn going into transformation by way of innovation and modernisation. It is seeking an efficient and effective system, and looking to build upon the following reports:

  • Review of Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings (January 2015), by Sir Brian Leveson.
  • Civil Court Structure Review (July 2016), by Lord Justice Briggs (as he then was).
  • Transforming our Justice System (September 2016), by the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals.

Technology is taking over. There is the Law Technology Committee, chaired by Christina Blacklaws, president of the Law Society. 60% of divorces are now done online, probate is becoming digitalised, and there is the online civil money claim court. Digital sharing of information in the criminal

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Keystone Law—Milena Szuniewicz-Wenzel & Ian Hopkinson

Keystone Law—Milena Szuniewicz-Wenzel & Ian Hopkinson

International arbitration team strengthened by double partner hire

Coodes Solicitors—Pam Johns, Rachel Pearce & Bradley Kaine

Coodes Solicitors—Pam Johns, Rachel Pearce & Bradley Kaine

Firm celebrates trio holding senior regional law society and junior lawyers division roles

Michelman Robinson—Sukhi Kaler

Michelman Robinson—Sukhi Kaler

Partner joins commercial and business litigation team in London

NEWS
Read All
Legal Action Group set out 2026 events calendar
The Legal Action Group (LAG)—the UK charity dedicated to advancing access to justice—has unveiled its calendar of training courses, seminars and conferences designed to support lawyers, advisers and other legal professionals in tackling key areas of public interest law
NLJ this week: When saying no to mediation pays
Refusing ADR is risky—but not always fatal. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed and Sanjay Dave Singh of the University of Leicester analyse Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd: despite repeated invitations to mediate, the defendant stood firm, made a £100,000 Part 36 offer and was ultimately ‘wholly vindicated’ at trial
NLJ this week: 40 years on, has PACE lost its edge?
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 transformed criminal justice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ed Cape of UWE and Matthew Hardcastle and Sandra Paul of Kingsley Napley trace its ‘seismic impact’
NLJ this week: Stress-testing the City
Operational resilience is no longer optional. Writing in NLJ this week, Emma Radmore and Michael Lewis of Womble Bond Dickinson explain how UK regulators expect firms to identify ‘important business services’ that could cause ‘intolerable levels of harm’ if disrupted
NLJ this week: Mandelson, Epstein & the court of popular opinion
As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll