The biggest dedicated tribunal center in the UK will begin conducting hearings in March
The biggest dedicated tribunal center in the UK will open its doors in London at the end of the month after over two years of delay, reported the Law Society Gazette.
According to the UK justice ministry, the center will begin conducting in-person hearings in March with a focus on employment tribunals. The seven-storey building sits next to the Central Criminal Court; it contains 30 hearing rooms and 40 judicial chambers.
The center is fully wheelchair accessible, with layouts that can be adjusted to optimize the number of hearings that can be held, the justice ministry said. Hearing rooms were also constructed to be environmentally friendly and efficient.
The center will also hear social security and child support disputes. Once it opens, cases set to be heard at Victory House and Fox Court will be transferred.
“We inherited a justice system in crisis. Backlogs soared, buildings crumbled, and people waiting years for a hearing have been left in limbo. Everyday people are paying the price for years of neglect. This new centre is a turning point. One of the largest tribunal centres in Europe, right here in London – part of our plan to modernise the estate, recruit more judges and restore access to justice,” said Sarah Sackman, courts and legal services minister, in a statement published by the Gazette.
Nonetheless, Jo Mackie, employment partner at UK firm Michelmores, noted that court backlog issues extended to a lack of human resources.
“The government has a shortage of judges, magistrates and clerks in the court system across the UK because of cuts to services and increased stress on those that remain and are left to take on the extra burden. The claims have continued while the staff have reduced,” Mackie said in a statement published by the Gazette. “Opening another centre without also significantly increasing the numbers of trained professionals who can hear claims, conduct hearings and make judgements is a false economy.”
Florence Brocklesby, founder of London firm Bellevue Law, echoed the sentiment, pointing out that more employment judges needed to be recruited.
“The extreme backlogs in employment tribunals currently represent a threat to meaningful access to justice for all parties, and the raft of new employment rights being introduced by the Employment Rights Act will be much less impactful if claims can’t be resolved in a timely manner. Any resource which addresses this is welcome news, but addressing the backlog will also require significant recruitment of employment judges to hear cases,” Brocklesby said in a statement published by the Gazette.
His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service initially announced its acquisition of the tribunal center building for a supposed £111m in 2022. The service had intended for the center to begin operating at the end of 2023.
