The first virtual court case has been held with a claimant appearing via a home laptop camera, while an extremely patient judge sat in a London tribunal and lawyers presented evidence from Belfast.
There may have been echoing feedback, vocal distortion and a moment when the screen faded to black, but courtroom justice will never be quite the same again.
The pilot marks a significant point in a £1bn Ministry of Justice modernisation programme, which is expected to expand remotely operated hearings from tax-dispute chambers into other areas of civil and criminal law.
The brave new legal world was inaugurated by a button pressed by the court clerk at Taylor House tribunal hearings centre in Clerkenwell, London, which brought up a 60-second countdown clock on the participants’ computer screen.
Claimants receive a preliminary phone conversation to assess their technology. They are warned that no food or drink except water is permitted during the session and to treat it like a physical courtroom. A friend or lawyer may sit beside them but must be identified to the judge.
Whether children bursting in on a parent giving evidence will count as contempt of court has yet to be decided. The example of Prof Robert Kelly, who was distracted in the middle of a TV interview by his eager infants, is a reminder of the perils. Judges are likely to show lenience as online procedures develop.
The appeal, lodged by Owen Yarnold against HMRC-imposed fines for allegedly filing late tax returns, was heard as solicitors and barristers prepare this week for meetings to protest against government funding of the traditional justice system.
On Monday evening, members of the Criminal Bar Association, London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association and the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association will meet to discuss direct action over cuts to legal aid, problems with evidence disclosure and racial inequality in the justice system.
The MoJ’s vision of the future is focused on making justice more accessible to the public through digital technology and making savings by closing down underused courthouses.
Yarnold, a company director who was challenging £1,200 worth of tax fines, had volunteered for his case to be heard online. It was a dispute that, although due in open court, would not normally have attracted media interest.
Judge Swami Raghavan was a calming presence who endeavoured to extract key evidence from tax officials and Yarnold while preserving the solemnity and coherence of proceedings spread out across the UK.
Asked if he could see clearly, Yarnold informed the judge that his head was “just on the edge of the screen”. A bookcase and a skylight were visible in his home.
Yarnold told the hearing that penalty notices sent by HMRC had not initially not reached him, even though he was still using his normal office address.
From Belfast, the voice of Orla O’Reilly, for HMRC, began reverberating and degenerated into feedback. Judge Raghavan suspended the case so that the courtroom technician could carry out remote soundchecks.
Judges can pause hearings for short breaks and open up to four simultaneous windows on the shared courtroom screen, permitting others to join the proceedings from different locations. Claimants click on a link to log onto an MoJ system, which uses a customised Skype engine but is separate from the firm’s commercial network. Participants are not permitted to record the hearing.
Yarnold, who is a director of a property development company, Knole Homes, said he had been suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome for some of the period in question. “I was never aware I had done something wrong,” he added. “I would be happy to pay £100 for each of the missed submissions but not [the full accumulated fine].”
The hearing lasted two hours, including several pauses, which was longer than scheduled. Judge Raghavan closed proceedings by thanking the parties for “bearing with the technical glitches”. His decision, he said, would be reserved until after Easter. Familiar legal practices will, no doubt, survive into the digital future.
A spokesperson for HM Courts & Tribunals Service said: “The first tax appeal case heard under the video hearing pilot has been successfully completed.
“There was a minor delay due to the quality of one participant’s internet connection, but we are pleased there were no issues with the supporting technology or platform.”
