HM Courts and Tribunals Service (‘HMCTS’) has published a brief giving an update on plans for modernising e-working in the family jurisdiction.
The brief explains that the project to bring in an online divorce system is progressing well, and that a variety of digital systems have been implemented locally, including using electronic files instead of paper files, a system that enables the filing of electronic documents by email, and ‘e-bundling’ systems that produce an electronic bundle of documents that can be emailed directly to parties, staff and judges.
HMCTS says that their “overall vision is to have, wherever possible, paperless processes from issue to resolution across civil, family and tribunals jurisdictions.” As a first step towards this they are introducing a shared storage system, in which documents and evidence will be filed electronically with the court. They are also “aiming for the solution to include viewing of these documents in the courtroom to enable some rudimentary in court digital presentation of evidence.”
Next steps that HMCTS propose to take include further visits to courts, judges and local authorities, as they look more closely at specific systems, and assess the implications of the changes they intend to bring about over the next year.
You can read the full HMCTS brief here.
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