Pre-pandemic, about 2,300 rooms on the court estate had the required equipment.
Rosemary Rand, deputy director, Future Hearings, HMCTS, wrote that HMCTS has developed a video hearing service for the judiciary and court users, which is designed to ‘replicate the formality and gravitas of court and tribunal proceedings’. It is currently being used in tax, property and employment tribunals, is being tested in civil and family hearings, and will replace the current Cloud Video Platform as part of the courts reform programme.
Rand said: ‘We expect that video hearings will continue to be an integral part of a 21t century justice system’.
Both the Law Society and Bar Council firmly oppose the use of remote juries, warning the technology may alienate juries, raise security risks and cost more.
