The Court Service, like many other sectors, has moved rapidly to deal with the effects of Covid-19.\u00a0 Broadly, only 45% of courts remain open to the public for \u2018essential\u2019 face-to-face hearings, one third of courts are closed and slightly over 20% are temporarily closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For those going through the family courts we have seen a number of changes. The majority of short, interim, hearings are still proceeding albeit either by telephone or by video. Whilst telephone case management hearings have been available in the civil courts for many years it had been uncommon to have family cases dealt with in that way.\u00a0 A few final hearings, where it was felt it was not in the interests of the family to postpone, have gone ahead by way of video hearings. These have in the main taken place with the assistance of tech savvy judges and advocates.<\/p>\n
Whilst some lawyers (and judges) have commented publically on how effective the hearings have been, it is clear that experience has not been shared by all.\u00a0 An\u00a0anonymous circuit judge<\/a>\u00a0working in the family court posted “judges like me are compromised in their ability to conduct hearings with the empathy, fairness, understanding and compassion that is rightly valued as an essential element of the family court… there have been times that the extent to which I felt constrained has been uncomfortable and I worry about the impact on the parties, and the wider goal of delivering justice fairly.”<\/p>\n Following the PM’s announcement to avoid all non-essential contact, a three day Court of Protection trial was conducted by Skype in what was heralded as \u2018a legal first\u2019.\u00a0 Legal Journalists, keen for there to be transparency in the family courts reported it as “super fascinating\u2026 enjoying the occasional meow from someone’s court and checking out the decor of people’s gaffes\u201d.\u00a0 Barristers reported their experiences noting \u201cjudicial time had not been wasted nor was a sensitive and difficult case adjourned for months\u2026 No-one had to compromise their health and the fact the parties did not need to travel saved significant amounts of public money\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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