You are here: silicon.com > Management > Law & Policy

Law & Policy

NEWS FLASH: UK government pushes through high-tech justice reform

By Sarah Left

Published: 10 September 1998 17:03 GMT

Information technology will revolutionise the British civil justice system over the next 15 years.

The Lord Chancellor's department today published a consultation paper that outlines a long term, strategic plan for overhauling the legal system. The paper: 'civil.justice', envisions citizens accessing legal advice over the Internet and virtual courtrooms where litigants give evidence using videoconferencing.

Geoff Hoon, minister of State for the Lord Chancellor's Office, said: "This document is deliberately designed to be provocative as a way to stimulate reform."

Professor Richard Susskind, a member of the group that developed the paper, says some in the civil justice system have been encouraging the government to develop such a plan for ten years now. The main aim of the paper is to give citizens greater access to legal advice and to ease their way through the legal system.

Susskind stressed that not all the possible scenarios of IT use in the law are known, since many will occur as a consequence of social change. "In the future, a member of the public may turn to their TV Internet connection and, using voice recognition technology, say: 'I'm being evicted from my flat. What is my legal position?' That may be quite natural in six years' time."

Now the department will await the verdict of the legal community, which is being asked to adjust quickly to the massive changes outlined in the paper. The government will accept feedback and ideas on civil.justice until December. A plan of action will be formulated in the spring.

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure

Peter Cochrane Peter Cochrane's Blog: Can I become faster and smarter? We could all use a little more help from our machines

Mark Crichard Doing business with citizen developers: Beware the legal pitfalls Legal Eye: Make sure your business is protected from potential hazards


  • Jobs
Rail Civil Design Assurance Manager ('DOORSBBT

My client is a world leading civil engineering consultancy who are also specialist advisers focused on developing technical excellence within the ...

Principal Rail Civil/Structural Engineer (Rail Station design)

Chartered Civil/Structural Rail Design Engineer Civil Engineering Consultancy Based in Scotland Salaries range from 40,000 - 60,000 Basic Salary + ...

SR. SYSTEMS ENGINEER, SpringSource Specialist, EMEA

Solid experience in technology related work, including roles such as Pre-sales Engineer and/or customer-facing Consultant in environments building ...

Agenda Setters 2009
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.





Quick Sitemap Links: