08.12.2014
Nottinghamshire Family Court trialled the use of E-Courtbundles last month, a new system that digitises many of the crucial documents used in live court hearings.
The programme saw laptops provided for judicial use and a computer monitor set up for the witness table, rather than the traditional lever arch files full of documents.
Documents can be sent instantly via secure online file transfer services, and the system allows the Judge to access important documents.
It is believed that E-Courtbundles can be compiled and indexed in minutes, while a manual court file can take several hours to produce. The digital format also makes it quicker and easier to search for relevant data when needed.
Nottinghamshire County Council solicitor Geoff Russell said another advantage of the system is that it needs little investment in new equipment or software.
"We know that criminal courts are moving towards the digital agenda but both the Nottingham Family Court and Nottinghamshire County Council have now successfully conducted three sets of proceedings," he said.
Digital System For Court Documents Could Save Time And Money
A pilot programme in Nottinghamshire could see sweeping changes to the ways papers are prepared and presented at family law proceedings all over the country.Nottinghamshire Family Court trialled the use of E-Courtbundles last month, a new system that digitises many of the crucial documents used in live court hearings.
The programme saw laptops provided for judicial use and a computer monitor set up for the witness table, rather than the traditional lever arch files full of documents.
Documents can be sent instantly via secure online file transfer services, and the system allows the Judge to access important documents.
It is believed that E-Courtbundles can be compiled and indexed in minutes, while a manual court file can take several hours to produce. The digital format also makes it quicker and easier to search for relevant data when needed.
Nottinghamshire County Council solicitor Geoff Russell said another advantage of the system is that it needs little investment in new equipment or software.
"We know that criminal courts are moving towards the digital agenda but both the Nottingham Family Court and Nottinghamshire County Council have now successfully conducted three sets of proceedings," he said.
Expert Opinion
It is a very positive step for this technology to be used in the family court and it will lead to a number of efficiencies. Solicitors currently produce large quantities of papers for hearings, kept in files called bundles, and each set of solicitors, the barristers, the court and any witnesses need access to those bundles in court; a task which takes time, space and paper and requires postage and courier charges, which increase the costs paid by clients. With an electronic bundle, only one bundle needs to be prepared and it is then electronically shared with the relevant people. <br/> <br/>“Lawyers will need to change their working practices, particularly in the court room, to adapt to the new system, but in many cases lawyers have been using technology for a number of years and the courts are catching up. <br/> <br/>“It is vital that appropriate security measures are in place to protect the sensitive information featured in e-courtbundles and we hope the technology will begin to be introduced across the board as soon as possible.”
Press Contact
