This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of second reading of the Courts and Tribunals (Online Procedure) Bill [HL].
Courts and Tribunals (Online Procedure) Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (163 KB , PDF)
The Courts and Tribunals (Online Procedure) Bill [HL] is a government bill that would establish an Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) tasked with producing an online procedure rules framework for use in certain civil, tribunal and family proceedings. The framework would enable parties to specified kinds of proceedings to use the online procedure. The Government intends the OPRC to have expertise in the delivery of legal services through IT and for the rules to use a “mix of technology” to provide a quick and simple dispute resolution process. It explained:
The new rule committee will have expertise in the law and the provision of lay advice, IT and other relevant experience which will enable it to produce court rules to support the online procedure. The online procedure will be a new digital procedure governed by a new set of rules separate to current processes. It will use a mix of technology, conciliation and judicial resolution to provide a simple and quick dispute resolution process.
The Government expects the new rules to be “simple” and “intelligible to, and easily navigable by, all people who rely on our courts system”.
The bill is due to receive its second reading on 14 May 2019. It was introduced in the House of Lords on 1 May 2019 by the HM Advocate General for Scotland and Ministry of Justice spokesperson for the Lords, Lord Keen of Elie.
Courts and Tribunals (Online Procedure) Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (163 KB , PDF)
An estimated 2.3 million people aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2024. Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs has raised concerns about inconsistent support for victims and survivors and has called for urgent reform. The government has recently announced several policies aimed at enhancing this support, including a pilot of ‘domestic abuse protection notices’ and ‘domestic abuse protection orders’.
Current and recent governments agree that the rule of law is a fundamental British value. However, the House of Lords Constitution Committee and legal sector organisations have raised concerns that the rule of law has been eroded. Law officers in the Labour government have committed to uphold and promote the rule of law.
This proposed law would place a duty on the government to make arrangements to ensure those serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection have been resentenced within 24 months of the act being passed.
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