Modernising the legal system for the 21st century has taken a
small step forward with the introduction of the Courts and
Tribunals (Online Procedure) Bill to the House of Lords. The Bill,
which aims to create a committee to provide rules for online
proceedings in civil, family and tribunal cases, recently underwent
examination at the committee stage.
The Bill is to be welcomed as it seeks to reduce costs and
inefficiencies currently dominating the paper based infrastructure.
However, the Bill also met with criticism from the House of Lords,
with the Constitution Committee, concluding it "raises
issues of constitutional concern" particularly in
relation to the broad powers conferred on the Lord Chancellor.
Additionally, detail of the digital infrastructure required for
implementation appears lacking at this stage.
