Research and Policy
JUSTICE has a new Working Party on digital exclusion and the reform programme
Published 17/08/2017
Following the “Transforming our justice system” White Paper in September 2016, plans for a new Online Court are underway. HMCTS’ reform programme aims to streamline a number of different services online and provide more accessible ways for non-lawyers to commence and respond to claims. Moving proceedings online will especially impact the civil courts, where the number of litigants in person has risen sharply.
UK Administrative Justice Institute (UKAJI) : A research resource for everyday justice
Published 01/08/2017
(Author: Margaret Doyle, Senior Research Fellow, UK Administrative Justice Institute) ‘What is administrative justice?’ is one of the pages on UKAJI’s website most viewed by visitors. Does this suggest that readers don’t know what it means, or is it simply difficult to define?
DoNotPay launches 1,000 new bots to help people with their legal problems
Published 18/07/2017
Update from TechCrunch on the latest development of DoNotPay which includes a brief video showing how it works.
On screen but disconnected? The reality of virtual justice
Published 12/07/2017
Blog from Penelope Gibbs on observing a virtual court in which defendants all appear on video and everyone else is in the courtroom.
The debtors’ court
Published 21/06/2017
James Sandbach looks at the trend in money claims, based on data compiled for the Ministry of Justice by the Registry Trust
The TrustLaw Index of Pro Bono
Published 21/06/2017
An initiative of TrustLaw, the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono service, the Index shows the amount of pro bono being done globally by law firms on a country-by-country basis.
Online justice – will it work?
Published 26/04/2017
Author: James Sandbach, Director of Policy and External Affairs, LawWorks. "About a month ago I was privileged to have a sneak preview of the “Beta” sites that HMCTS officials have been working as part of the Court modernisation programme to digitise much of the court process and administration. Justice Minister Oliver Heald brought officials along to the House of Commons for a private briefing of MPs, as the Prisons and Courts Bill was about to be launched in Parliament. Despite having been involved in much of the discussion about “Online Courts” since the Briggs Review and the subsequent Ministry of Justice paper on “Transforming our Justice System,” I wasn’t quite clear what to expect, but after the preliminaries about customer journeys and the political words about improving the justice system for everyone, we finally saw a demonstration of what the new processes will look like.
The Law Society - Pro Bono Charter
Published 25/04/2017
The Law Society has recently produced new tools designed to help law firms and in-house teams develop the capacity and strategic presence of pro bono work to improve access to justice and meet unmet legal needs. The Law Society launched it’s Pro Bono Charter in November 2016. The Charter is a statement of commitment that firms and in-house teams can endorse and is a public commitment to support pro bono. It offers a great opportunity to highlight your law firm or organisation’s pro bono work. By signing the Statement of Commitment, your law firm or organisation is demonstrating its commitment to improving access to justice for those individuals and organisations who have legal needs and are ineligible for legal aid and unable to afford to pay for legal services.
OpenJustice & OpenDemocracy: An access to justice crisis
Published 10/04/2017
OpenJustice (hosted by OpenDemocracy) have recently published a series of articles focusing on the issues affecting people’s ability to seek a remedy through the courts: to stand up to bullies and protect themselves against the powerful. The series looks at why access to justice matters, the impact that the legal aid cuts have had and possible solutions to the access to justice crisis.
‘The right to assistance - the public duty to assist’ - by Jane Krishnadas
Published 27/03/2017
Dr Jane Krishnadas explains the foundations of CLOCK, The Community Legal Outreach Collaboration, Keele. CLOCK was formed as an umbrella of professional public, private and third sector organisations, to develop a new role ‘the Community Legal Companion’, premised upon the McKenzie Friend principles, to safeguard the litigant- in-person’s rights to assistance and access to legally-aided and affordable legal services, within the shared commitment to access to justice.
Update from the LIP Engagement Group
Published 14/03/2017
The Litigant in Person Judicial Engagement Group provides the HMCTS Reform Programme with views from the advice and pro bono sectors in the development of the HMCTS reform programme. Here is a summary of the Group's meeting held on 23rd November 2016.
LASPO Review
Published 10/03/2017
The Lord Chancellor has announced that the LASPO review will commence shortly.
Citizenship Foundation
Published 10/03/2017
Citizenship Foundation’s latest blog explains the importance of triggering article 50 and why it is important for it to be explained in our schools.
Litigant in Person Engagement Group
Published 22/02/2017
The Litigant in Person Judicial Engagement Group provides the HMCTS Reform Programme with views from the advice and pro bono sectors in the development of the HMCTS reform programme. The Group covers the Civil, Family and Tribunal jurisdictions and is mindful of the increasing number of LIPs in criminal courts.
Welsh Government set out plan to improve advice services
Published 14/02/2017
The Welsh Government has just published an Information and Advice Plan, working together with the National Advice Network and others. It sets out how they aspire to work together to improve access to the quality assured services which people need. Published December 2016.
