Decisions about remote participation should not be based simply on resources: Judiciary

Through the work of the judiciary, commissioned by the Lady Chief Justice and under the leadership of the Deputy Senior Presiding Judge, Lady Justice Yip, two documents have been produced.

The first is the Judicial Remote Participation Principles - aimed at promoting consistency and ensuring proper consideration of both access to justice and the interests of justice. 

The second is Overarching Guidance, which provides a framework to support a more consistent approach to remote participation across the courts and tribunals.  

According to the Judiciary, the Principles make clear that decisions about remote participation “should not be based simply on available resources”.

From an operational perspective, the Overarching Guidance recognises that courts and tribunals will need to consider practical factors, including the resources available, when making decisions in individual cases.

The Judiciary said: “Remote participation should not be used as a substitute for a properly functioning physical court estate, but equally, hearings that are suitable to take place remotely should not be prevented because of limited resources.”

Using the documents as a foundation, the Civil and Family jurisdictions and each of the Tribunal jurisdictions have reviewed and refreshed their remote participation guidance.

Updated guidance for the criminal courts will be published separately.

The guidance can be accessed here.

Lottie Winson