New ‘automatic online conviction procedure’ to be set up by the UK government

People guilty of « low level » offences in England and Wales will be able to accept and pay penalties and avoid having to appear before court under a new online process to be set up by the UK government.

The « automatic online conviction procedure » will « provide a more efficient and proportionate way of dealing with low level cases with no identifiable victim, freeing up magistrates’ time and space in court buildings to be focused on more complex cases », according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Dispute resolution specialist David McIlwaine of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said the move reflects a « strong commitment » to advancing the use of technology in the court system.

McIlwaine said: « It is interesting that this first move to digitise the court process applies to cases that come before the criminal courts, and not to civil proceedings, although some businesses do already face obligations relating to online dispute resolution in the context of business-to-consumer disputes. »

« A true online court appears to be some way off yet. There are, for example, questions remaining over how witness evidence can be adduced digitally without a court official being physically present to ensure the integrity of the evidence provided. This announcement by the MoJ reflects, though, its strong commitment to online dispute resolution, and we can expect further developments in relation to the digitisation of the court system in future, » he said.

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Ce contenu a été mis à jour le 17 février 2017 à 11 h 24 min.