The framework is intended to reduce court backlogs
UK lady chief justice Sue Carr has introduced a new judicial national listing framework that will utilize artificial intelligence to help reduce court backlogs, reported the Law Society Gazette.
The framework is set to be rolled out before the summer and will be delivered via an updated criminal practice direction, according to Carr. Courts minister Sarah Sackman described the framework as “game changing” in a statement published by the Gazette.
“Invaluable knowledge-sharing on trial lengths and the risks of ineffective trials will also contribute to smarter listings, using and improving data collection and AI to help listing officers and judges reduce the backlogs and maximise that court flexibility,” Carr said in a statement published by the Gazette. “This will in turn allow judges’ expertise to be matched up with courtroom data in a way that can help to predict how trials will run over (or under) planned schedules or where trials may be ineffective.”
She added that new tooling could aid in flagging such risks and eventually determine cases that should be prioritized for listing, cutting down delays. The responsibility of listing process administration would be lifted from judges and “allow us to be ever more nimble in moving from one trial to the next, with greater consistency,” she said.
The framework and uncapped sitting days would facilitate optimal application of the courts, she explained. Nonetheless, Carr said that listing decisions would remain a judicial function.
“Judicial independence and advice must remain at the core of all these advances. Judges will take the decisions on when and where remote hearings are appropriate,” she said in a statement published by the Gazette.
Sackman called for investment, reform, and the modernization of the courts system.
“We need every lever to be pulled and as Sir Brian [Leveson] and his brilliant team at the independent review have argued there is no silver bullet for addressing the crisis in our criminal courts,” she said in a statement published by the Gazette. “Technology is not the silver bullet but it does offer rich potential for greater openness in justice, whether through transcription [or] audio recording of all our magistrates’ hearings.”
Sackman said her department was also trialing an AI-driven listing tool designed to help judges and their teams with the listing process. She confirmed that the tool was being pilot tested in Preston and Isleworth.
“Listing is a matter for the judiciary and that is right, but it is the job of government to provide the resources to enable that to be done effectively. I have had a play around on the tool and it is seriously exciting. It harnesses technology and thinking that has become commonplace in our NHS,” she said in a statement published by the Gazette.
