Digitalization of Civil Proceedings in England
Authors:   Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)), Ermakova E. P. , Protopopova O. V. ,   Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University))
Published: October 2024

Introduction: England is going through a period of radical reform of the civil justice system. A new landscape of digital dispute resolution is advancing, based on the idea that the transition from ‘paperbased’ resolution of legal disputes in physical courts to an online environment will help meet the dual requirements of expanded access to justice and significantly reduced system costs. As noted by the English authors, now the country has a semi‐digital justice system and hybrid ways of working. Supporters of the reforms define the current system as unstable and consider growing digitalization to be the only realistic solution. Purpose: to form an idea of the digitalization of civil proceedings in England based on analysis of scientific sources and regulations. Methods: empirical methods of comparison, description, interpretation; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic; special scientific methods such as legaldogmatic and the method of interpretation of legal norms. Results: the conducted research has shown that a modernization program is currently being implemented in the courts of England and Wales, focused on the transition from traditional ways of working to the use of digital methods. There have been created various pilot schemes aimed at improving access to justice, at facilitating preliminary resolution of disputes and resolution of disputes at early stages, at reducing the number of claims reaching the court, at increasing the economic efficiency of civil proceedings and judicial efficiency. Judicial reform has been carried out by the UK government for more than 25 years. But the civil justice reform program, with its commitment to digitalization and online process, began in earnest in 2014, when the Ministry of Justice announced that Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) would implement a reform program the central element of which would be the use of information technology, including online processes, to facilitate dispute resolution. The concept of online court was to create a convenient online system for processing simple monetary claims with a value not exceeding 25,000 pounds. Conclusions: in 2023, the following digital technologies were widely used by UK courts: video hearings (at the discretion of the court); creation of electronic packages of court documents (e‐bundles) and electronic filing of court documents; electronic communication between the parties and the court; online portals for processing various forms of claims; creation of an online system of protocols of preliminary actions (Pre Action Protocols), called online PAPs. Currently, various claim portals designed to handle claims of various types are operating or undergoing pilot testing in the country: the Online Civil Monetary Claims (OCMC) portal (processing of claims for a certain amount of money limited to 25,000 pounds); the Damages Claims Portal (DCP) (processing of claims for damages in the district court); Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal (processing of accident injury claims). An important event was the creation of the Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) in accordance with the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022. This law created the basis for the development of new, simplified Rules for online services in civil, family, and arbitration proceedings. The Recommendations of the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT) should also be taken into account with regard to the use of blockchain technologies in legal proceedings and judicial practice on this issue. The final report of the UKJT was published on June 28, 2023. The final position of the UKJT was to support common law as the primary means to be used to resolve claims against cryptocurrencies.