Managing The Court Process

As the Covid-19 pandemic has forced much of the business world to move on-line, in the context of litigation that has meant the rapid adoption in many jurisdictions of remote court hearings.

Whilst imperfect in many ways, this solution comes with many advantages, particularly in the offshore world where parties, and sometimes their lawyers or even judges, are not resident in the territory where the case is to be heard. The ability of counsel, witnesses or experts to attend hearings from their home jurisdictions provides time and cost savings, not least for those of us based in Asia. In this feature we shall take a look at how our jurisdictions are managing the process.

Until relatively recently, the court process was based exclusively on printed originals, paper copies, physical attendance and traditional formalities (including appropriate dress – and wigs – and sitting, standing and bowing at the appropriate time).