National Archives launches alpha version of free service hosting court and tribunal judgments
A new freely accessible case law archive managed by the National Archives is now publishing the latest decisions from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and Upper Tribunals online.
The launch marks the first time the storage and preservation of judgments from courts and tribunals in England and Wales is guaranteed under primary legislation, a move that the Government said signals a “vital step towards better transparency”.
Judgments can be accessed by members of the public and lawyers alike via the free caselaw service on The National Archives ‘Find Case Law’ webpage.
Justice Minister James Cartlidge said the National Archive's service “will ensure court judgments are easily accessible to anyone who needs them”.
He added: “Our first official Government record of judgments is a modern one-stop-shop that will benefit everyone, from lawyers and judges to academics, journalists and members of the public."
Dr Natalie Byrom, Director of Research at The Legal Education Foundation, welcomed the new archive as a “hugely significant step for open justice".
Dr Bryom added: "The investment in modernising the processes whereby judgments from courts and tribunals reach publication puts in place the infrastructure needed to build towards a complete record- something which is vital for research and policy.
"We are excited and encouraged by the progress made to date and look forward to seeing how the service develops over coming weeks and months."
BAILII, a charity organisation that has up until now been the leading platform for finding archived decisions for free, announced that it was "glad to assist The National Archives in launching their new service".
The charity has published court decisions online for more than 20 years. However, its contract to publish Court and Tribunal judgments on behalf of the Lord Chancellor is expiring.
Research published last month revealed that just 55% of judicial review judgments are available for free on BAILII . The remainder were found on other services but behind paywalls.
Adam Carey
