Litigants may soon be able to go to court online, part of the wave of digital innovation pioneered by Miami court reporters agency CourtScribes.
Britain is embarking on an experiment in virtual courtrooms that could be the next step in a technological revolution begun by pioneers like Miami court reporters CourtScribes.
The Guardian reports that claimants will be able to start attending UK Tax Appeal court via video link beginning this Spring. According to the newspaper:
The new system will allow claimants to attend a hearing while at home or work, rather than having to give up a day to travel to court.
The pilot programme is part of a £1bn modernisation drive by the Ministry of Justice that is expected to expand remote hearings into other court areas. Couples applying for divorce can already conduct the process online.
Tax tribunals rule on claims about disputed assessments by HM Revenue and Customs. The hearings will involve a judge in a court taking evidence from claimants over the internet.
The software that enables the parties to communicate is free to install, according to the MoJ. If claimants wish to be represented, their lawyers can sit alongside them at their computer, or participate remotely via video link.
It’s the kind of innovation that is becoming more commonplace, thanks to digital pioneers such as the Miami court reporters of CourtScribes.
Entrepreneur and professor Barry Unger, in a white paper, writes that CourtScribes is leading a wave of change in creating and accessing verbatim records of legal proceedings.
Unger writes: “CourtScribes is changing the court reporting industry by using Internet age technology to create the official record of court proceedings, using remote transcriptionists and charging attorneys up to 50% less than what they now pay, and as … a disruptive technology will not only improve the quality of services, but also ultimately extend and even democratize the use of services that are today often restricted only to high profile or high dollar value cases.”
