Justice Secretary to tell Peers of COVID-19 impact on courts and legal system
The House of Lords Constitution Committee will hear from Justice Secretary Robert Buckland tomorrow (Wednesday 22 July at 10.30 a.m.) when it probes implications of COVID-19 for courts.
The committee will also take evidence from Susan Acland-Hood, Chief Executive of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Possible questions and topics of discussion include:
- How effective are remote proceedings? What investment or new processes are required to ensure that virtual court proceedings can be conducted adequately?
- What assessment have you made of the implications of reducing the size of juries, or replacing juries in some cases with judges and magistrates?
- What measures are necessary to ensure that socially and economically vulnerable litigants and those with low literacy or digital literacy can access justice?
- How will the substantial and rising backlog of cases be addressed?
The session will be broadcast live on Parliament TV.
