header-logo header-logo

Paperless cases

03 September 2009 / David Oldham
Issue: 7383 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
printer mail-detail

David Oldham observes how IT is increasingly used in court

In a previous article (NLJ 1 May 2009), I commented on the failure of government to provide funding for the sort of technological assistance that Lord Woolf envisaged 10 years ago for courts and judges. In this article, I consider what other sorts of IT are available which might help judges and lawyers to conduct litigation more efficiently.

I admit immediately that I am not a “techie”, and so I do not pretend to understand the technical aspects of a lot of IT. What interests me is how user-friendly it is, how easily it could be introduced, and whether realistically it might be affordable. Will it help me in my day-to-day work, and will it make the system more efficient, and reduce delay and cost?
 

In many ways, the county courts in England and Wales still operate much as they did 100 years ago. The system remains paper-based, with paper files for every case. In my previous article, I mentioned that work on an

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

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll