By Lucy Caulkett-
The HMCTS and Courts & Tribunals Service and Ministry of Justice have responded to A Public Accounts Committee’s recommendations on Transforming courts and tribunals report. Its response addresses every aspect of the British Justice System, and promises to provide a legal system that caters for everyone, with a focus on doing its best to guarantee fairness for all who use and rely on the justice system.
The HMCTS and Courts And Tribunal Service along with the Ministry Of Justice have conducted extensive research on its reforms and included the method of the research methods used in arriving at their reform processes. It all looks good and seems to cover most aspects of the justice system that concern users. During the Discovery phase of the Crime Programme, between April and November 2018, the government bodies say the Programme team undertook consultations with many of the key partners, agencies and stakeholder groups.
These sessions were ”to test and validate the proposed features of the future service design, and also to foster a collaborative approach where the proposals for the future design were transparent to the judiciary”. It doesn’t seem to address the issue of costs faced by undefended litigants, although this seems to be an area still being looked at.
The Ministry Of Justice have confirmed that over two million criminal cases, and over 1.8 million civil claims, more than
150,000 family law disputes are handled by the justice system every year. Another 800,000 cases relate to tribunal cases. The MoJ say there has been enormous innovation from both judges and staff. However, their processes,
tools, and infrastructure has revolved around dealing with cases in only two ways: paper
forms, and in-person, in-court hearings.
The department admits that labour intensive, paper-based systems across courts and tribunals generate errors, duplication, inefficiency and require significant effort and resources to administer and progress cases. Its systems have by its own admission, not been designed around the needs of the people it serves, who are asked to navigate complex and arcane
processes, often at very difficult points in their lives. The MOJ humbly admits the need to reform its services in a way that caters better for the members of the public who rely on it.
” Reform to our services means catering better to the needs of the people who rely on it. This boils down
to designing our processes around them wherever we can, instead of asking the public to conform to what
we think the process ought to be. In practice, it means more cases started, handled and prepared online or by
video; better information flows and communication
HMCTS regularly publish reform updates, information and documentation and uses a range of channels to
reach a wide audience. A Reform Programme undertaken by the department gives the outline of what HMCTS will do and how HMCTS will do it and who will be affected. One of the recommendations presented to the HMCTS relates to the transformation of courts and tribunals between those involved to and from the court, giving them better tools to understand what is happening, when it is happening, and why. This includes better online and telephone access and a better-functioning back office to support users; and more varied tools to resolve cases, drawing on mediation, online settlement
and judicial led online resolution.
The Ministry Of Justice say they have focused their efforts at Putting people who use our courts and tribunals at the
heart of how they design and run the system. Their stated aim is to ensure fairness in the justice system that treats everybody equally and in accordance with the law. ”This will mean hat even if someone only touches our service once and fleetingly, that person will feel that they’ve been treated fairly and with respect and that what matters most to them matters equally to us. It will also mean a more efficient system”, the report states.
DETERMINATION
This statement is professional way of moving forward, and shows the determination of the Ministry Of Justice to make sure the law is applied fairly for all those who rely or come in contact with it. ”We expect fewer wasted hearings where parties are unprepared for what will happen, or without having engaged properly with the court (or each other) beforehand; we expect less
re-work by our staff because a form was incorrectly filled in or because a user couldn’t make – or resolve a query first time; and we expect better collection of – and access to – data to help identify and resolve system-wide problems more quickly and easily”
TRANSFORMATION.
We will underpin these changes by transforming the technology for justice and developing new online routes to our courts and tribunals. We will improve the setting of justice by investing in fewer, better court and tribunal buildings. We will have a smaller workforce equipped with new skills and capabilities to better serve court and tribunal users. We will deal with cases proportionate to their seriousness and complexity. The changes will all be centred on delivering on the shared vision between the executive and the judiciary for a system that is: just, proportionate and accessible”.
This document sets out what these changes are in practice and are part of our commitment – and plans to provide more visibility and opportunities for people to contribute to and shape the programme.
The department says the changes will not happen all at once, but will need discussion, debate, involvement and evaluation
to keep us true to the central guiding principle of putting the person using the system at the centre of
the way it works. The Reform Programme covers the four legal jurisdictions of crime, civil, family and tribunals, as well
as cross-cutting work such as improving and managing their IT infrastructure and estate.
This means that almost everyone who uses courts and tribunals. The public and legal professionals as well as our partner
organisations – will be affected by reform to some degree. The reform is also expected to extend to the criminal courts, including the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, voluntary agencies, victims, witnesses, defendants, jurors, the judiciary,
prosecution and defence lawyers. In our civil and family courts it is people with disputes about money, families and people affected by relationship decisions, local authorities, and businesses across the UK
and beyond.
Tribunals cases will include individuals looking to challenge decisions made by public authorities or by their employers. Also in the mix are the legal professionals working on these cases, the public and press who attend courts and tribunals to observe justice being done, as well as the people who work at HMCTS. ”At the heart of most cases is an individual, a person with a family, with a job or caring responsibilities, perhaps with a health condition or disability, who might be vulnerable, a person of any age or background, who may never have expected to be drawn into the justice system.
” Reform does not in any way challenge or compromise the independence of the judiciary. This essential tenet
of the justice system remains steadfast.. Access to the justice system will not be diminished; it
will be enhanced through the addition of new routes that complement, but don’t necessarily replace, the
old, the report adds.
The public and media will continue to be able to see, hear and read about hearings and judgements, whether they are made in, or away from, the hearing room. The physical hearing room, and face-to-face interaction, will still play a critical role in the administration of justice. The sincerity, gravitas, integrity, along with the many traditions and ceremonial aspects, of the courtroom will not change. Familiar roles – Ushers, Clerks, Advisors, Security Officers – will continue with the important
work of supporting proceedings and making sure they run smoothly.
The MoJ has undertaken research and engagement in a range of ways to support our projects to shape the reforms that our users will experience. We are using the findings from our research and input from our stakeholders to design what our services will look like in the future. This research and input tells us the key factors influencing people’s experience of the justice
system.
RESEARCH METHODS
The MoJ maintains its research by conducting interviews every week and blending this user research with internal
quantitative and data science work to understand the people that use the justice system and the
impact of our reforms. They use insights from external research and academia to validate and challenge our approach and findings. They also with external researchers and sharing our data to allow them to do their own research on
reform. They also consolidate findings from our primary qualitative to provise a strong understanding
of what users need from reformed courts and tribunals services.