header-logo header-logo

Online justice

30 April 2009 / David Oldham
Issue: 7367 / Categories: Opinion , Procedure & practice , Technology
printer mail-detail

Technology in the civil courts—fact or fiction? David Oldham gives his verdict

IT was at the core of the Woolf Reforms. Procedural judges were to have the technological tools they needed to case-manage effectively and efficiently. Is that how it has worked out over the last decade? Procedural judges have done their best with the limited software with which they have been provided, but we are way behind the level of IT development which was promised and indeed needed.

Insufficient funds
The biggest problem of course is the lack of money. Provision of IT systems is expensive, and the government has not given the Courts Service sufficient funding to meet the Woolf objectives. Court staff have to work with fairly antiquated systems, which are periodically uprated and there is no uniformity across the courts.

e-filing
Currently, proposals to work towards an electronic filing system for courts have been shelved. This means that courts and judges still have to work with paper files which can (and do) get lost on a regular basis. There are fewer

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

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
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
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
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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
back-to-top-scroll