Updated remote participation guidance for the Civil and Family courts, and the Tribunal jurisdictions has now been published.
The judiciary, commissioned by the Lady Chief Justice and under the leadership of the Deputy Senior Presiding Judge, Lady Justice Yip, have been undertaking a cross-jurisdictional review of the use of remote participation in proceedings. Through this work, the Civil, Family and each of the tribunal jurisdictions have reviewed and refreshed their guidance on the use of remote participation ensuring there is proper consideration of access to justice and the interests of justice.
Through this work, 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 high-level framework to support a more consistent approach to remote participation across the courts and tribunals.
It is worth noting the distinction between the Principles and the Overarching Guidance in reference to the availability of resources. 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. 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 these documents as a foundation, the Civil and Family jurisdictions and each of the Tribunal jurisdictions have reviewed and refreshed their remote participation guidance. The updates to the guidance relate predominantly to format and terminology, creating greater standardisation and consistency across jurisdictions for the judiciary and users of the courts and tribunals.
You can read more about the Remote Participation Review here and also find the jurisdictional guidance here.
Civil
Civil – Remote Participation Guidance (PDF)
Family
Family – Remote Participation Guidance (PDF)
Employment Tribunals (England and Wales)
Employment Tribunal (England and Wales) – Remote Participation Guidance (PDF)
Employment Appeal Tribunal – Remote Participation Guidance (PDF)
