Online justice in UK taking another step forward

Online justice in the UK is set to advance this month with public tests of a system allowing litigants in person (LiPs) to file money claims online. A Law Gazette report notes that this is despite early tests suggesting that online claims are twice as likely to be defended. The civil money claims project is to progress from a pilot, involving invited claimants only, to so-called ‘public beta’ phase as soon as next week. The scheme is effectively a portal for LiPs to manage and resolve disputes, and is another step along the road to the creation of a fully-fledged online court. Since last year, a limited number of users with claims worth less than £10 000 have been able to issue their claim online, either represented by lawyers or as a litigant in person. Speaking at Liverpool Law Society last week, Master of the Rolls, Sir Terence Etherton, revealed that 1 828 LiPs have taken advantage of the online system, issuing 1 035 claims. However, a greater percentage of claims online are defended, meaning the default judgment rate has dropped from 53% under the ordinary paper processes to 24% in the online pilot. Etherton said the biggest cause for complaint has been the inability to upload evidence. The Ministry of Justice declined to confirm when the pilot would be extended, but minutes of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee meeting appear to indicate it would happen on 26 March.