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31 October 2025 / Professor Sue Prince
Issue: 8137 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology , Rule of law , Legal services , Legal aid focus , Equality
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Digital justice in an interoperable world

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To improve access to justice, we need innovative platforms & collaborative working, writes Sue Prince
  • Digital technology has the potential to equalise access to justice.
  • The quality and reliability of information are key, and various frameworks are being considered to improve public confidence in digital tools.

The access to justice crisis is well documented. Many people cannot afford legal services and do not know where to go for help; they find the legal system complex and confusing. Backlogs, cuts to services, and a cost-of-living crisis affecting employment, housing and debt have led to a huge gap in servicing legal need and an inability to meet demand.

Innovative approaches using digital technology now have the potential to begin to equalise access to information and advice. Websites such as Divorce Online, Access Social Care, Advice Now, and platforms such as the Official Injury Portal, are increasingly offering help and support for people with legal issues.

Optimistically, it could be envisaged that in the

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A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
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Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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