The report,
‘Digital Justice: HMCTS data strategy and delivering access to justice’, was
drawn up by TLEF research director Dr Natalie Byrom, following a three-month secondment
at HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), during which she interviewed senior
judges, government staff, academic researchers, and data and privacy
specialists.
Byrom said:
‘The move to online courts is an incredible opportunity to create a justice
system that works well for everyone, whether they are an individual in crisis
who has never been to court before, or a large organisation which regularly
brings claims.
‘We need to
ensure that digital processes are designed and monitored in line with recognised
access to justice principles. We also need to be able to measure how different
groups fare under the online processes, compared with paper-based, or
face-to-face systems.’
Under the
court reform programme, entire areas of law such as divorce, civil money
claims, certain types of social security and child support tribunal cases will
be dealt with online, with physical hearings reserved only for cases that
cannot otherwise be resolved.
One key TLEF
recommendation is that the government monitor access to justice by collecting
data about court users through optional questions about characteristics such as
age, gender, whether English is spoken as a first language, whether they are
represented by a lawyer and mental or physical disability. This data capture
must be subject to strict, clear and ethical controls in order to protect
people’s privacy. TLEF further recommends that HMCTS dedicate resources to
reviewing national and international best practice, existing legal frameworks
and testing the acceptability of different models with stakeholders and the
public.
