A new service that is expected to make hearing lists more accessible to court and tribunal users is to be launched in Spring 2022.

Announced by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) today (Tuesday 1 February 2022) the service will see courts and tribunals moved over to the new platform in phases with a planned launch with a small number of courts later this year. 

Writing in a blog post on Inside HMCTS, the courts service said: “As part of our commitment to open justice, we’re developing a new service that will modernise and improve how members of the public, the media and legal professionals find court and tribunal hearing lists.

“Every year we publish thousands of lists, setting out the cases courts and tribunals are hearing. Currently, we do not publish these lists in one place or in a consistent format, which can make it harder for users to find the information they need.”

The aim of the new service is to make it easier to find hearing lists, HMCTS confirmed, and the courts and tribunals service has been working with focus groups, including media representatives, to both better understand the needs of court users and to test the new system ahead of launch.

Alongside understanding the needs of court users such as legal professionals and members of the public, the media’s access to timely court lists was important, HMCTS acknowledged.

It added: “Justice must be seen to be done, and local and national journalists are key to this. They need to see what’s happening in courts and tribunals so that they can decide when to attend and report on proceedings. They need the lists in good time, before hearings take place.

“We’ll be testing the service throughout early in 2022 to ensure the changes we’ve made meet the needs of court users and provides the accessible and consistent service we have promised.”

As courts adopt to the new service, updates will be shared on HMCTS’ weekly operations summary with the ability to subscribe to keep up to date as the service expands.