The two-week independent review, due to end on 15 May and report back on 22 May, will be led by Dr Natalie Byrom, director of research at the Legal Education Foundation.
It will look at the swift
expansion of the use of remote hearings, focusing on the experience of court
users, and aims to offer practical recommendations for improvement. Practitioners
are invited to submit materials to consultation@theLEF.org or, if they have
taken part in or observed a remote hearing since 19 March, complete the CJC
survey at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CJC_CovidReview. A virtual consultation
meeting will be held on 11 May (joining instructions to be issued at a later
date).
Sir Terence Etherton, Master of
the Rolls, said: ‘The evidence collected by this review will be invaluable in
shaping the way forward for the civil justice system, both immediately and in
the longer term.’
Meanwhile, the Jury Trial
Working Group has made progress on plans to resume jury trials in criminal
cases.
The group, chaired by Mr
Justice Edis, met this week to discuss plans to restart jury trials in certain
Crown Courts with enough space and a suitable design to allow for social
distancing. It has identified a small number of Crown Courts as potential
venues.
Further assessment will now
take place with support from representatives of Public Health England and
Public Health Wales, with the results due to be reported back to the group at
its meeting next week.
The group is also assessing the
readiness of criminal justice agencies and partners to support jury trials at
these locations.
The Lord Chief Justice
postponed all new jury trials on 23 March, and the working group was convened a
month later to look for ways to restart jury trials safely.
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