Online tribunals for benefits claimants will begin as early as September 2017, the Legal futures website has revealed.
Sir Ernest Ryder, the Senior President of Tribunals, told a legal conference last week that the first signs of online courts will be visible in tribunals by September.
This will include elements such as uploading documents to the cloud, digital case management and hearings via Skype, video or telephone.
The first area of law to adopt online tribunals will be social security and child support tribunals, effectively making often very vulnerable claimants the Guinea pigs for the new process.
Ryder insisted that “everything is being tested with users, including judges, and then piloted before being introduced”.
He added that:
“There will be no big bang. There will be… a gradual learning curve. Some things will not work and we should expect that, and there will not be ‘one size that fits all”.
Youi can read more on the Legal Futures website.
