MOJ creates committee to govern digital court procedures

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has created a new committee to help guide judges, legal representatives and litigants through online court procedures.

The Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) will oversee the development of rules for online proceedings across the Civil, Family and Tribunals jurisdictions, as well as data and behavioural standards for online dispute resolution before proceedings are brought to a court or tribunal.

The committee will be made up of six members, including the judicial heads of the civil, family and tribunal jurisdictions.

It will be chaired by Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, who said: “I am delighted to be leading the new Online Procedure Rule Committee. The OPRC will oversee the creation of an end-to-end digital journey allowing people to resolve their disputes more quickly and efficiently. It will provide the necessary governance for the digital justice system as it develops.

Justice Minister Lord Bellamy said: “It is vital that digital court processes are governed by rules more suited to evolving technologies, and the creation of this committee secures the government’s longstanding commitment to leading the way in making this a reality.

“The work of the OPRC will help make online court and tribunal services more accessible, encouraging more people to resolve their disputes early and helping them get the timely and specialist support they need."