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29 May 2019 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7842 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
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Online justice: the view from the House of Lords

Michael Zander charts the progress of the government’s ambitious plans for conducting justice on line

In July 2016 Lord Justice Briggs (as he then was) published his Civil Courts Structural Review. One of the main recommendations was the establishment of an online court to deal with money claims of sums up to £25,000. The proposal was widely welcomed and in February 2017 the government moved to implement it in the Prisons and Courts Bill. But the Bill fell because of the June 2017 General Election. Now it is up and running again in the Courts and Tribunals (Online Procedure) Bill which had its 2nd Reading in the House of Lords on 14 May.

Whereas the original concept was limited to low level money claims, the new Bill is much more ambitious. Its provisions will apply to ‘specified kinds of proceedings’ defined in clause 2 as whatever kind of civil proceedings, family proceedings or proceedings in the First-tier Tribunal, the Upper Tribunal, employment tribunals and the Employment

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

DAC Beachcroft—Clare Dewar

DAC Beachcroft—Clare Dewar

DAC Beachcroft strengthens Scottish real estate capabilitywith partner appointment

Womble Bond Dickinson—Brendan Ryan

Womble Bond Dickinson—Brendan Ryan

Womble Bond Dickinson appoints Brendan Ryan as partner in Public Law Projects team

Parklane Plowden Chambers—five appointments

Parklane Plowden Chambers—five appointments

Parklane Plowden Chambers welcomes five new barristers

NEWS
A time-restricted bank tax, a ‘roadmap to fiscal devolution’, extension to parental leave, entrepreneur’s relief and a giveaway on energy bills for households are the headlines in Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey’s 2026 Autumn Budget
A Court of Appeal judge has lamented the ‘very concerning’ state of the law on employee inventor compensation after a chemist’s case took five-and-a-half years to reach court, eventually being listed for a 37-day trial next year
The Law Society has emphasised that responsibility remains human, in a practice note on artificial intelligence (AI)
Respect orders, which enable police, councils, housing associations, transport networks and other authorities to take enforcement action against anti-social behaviour, have come into force across England and Wales
The Land Registry has launched two consultations aimed at making its information more publicly accessible, ‘Restructuring HM Land Registry fees’, and ‘Future of access to HM Land Registry information’
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