Full Description
A well-designed case management system supports the numerous activities required to facilitate effective management of court proceedings and promote more efficient execution of court administration engendering efficacious access to justice. A Commonwealth Guide to Case Management promotes the efficient handling of disputes by Commonwealth judicial systems and the dissemination of Commonwealth best practices. The Guide will aid the adoption of improved case management systems across the Commonwealth by promoting principles of good case management, the use of technology, law, and procedure.
Contents
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
1.1. CULTURE SHIFT: RATIONING PROCEDURE RATHER THAN RATIONING ACCESS TO JUSTICE
1.2. SHARED VALUES, DIVERSE CULTURES
1.3. A WORD OF CAUTION: POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS IDENTIFIED
CHAPTER 2. TRANSFORMATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY FOR AGILE CASE MANAGEMENT: THE PROMISE OF DIGITISED COURTS AS A VITAL ADJUNCT TO PROCEDURAL REFORM AND THE FUTURE OF EVIDENCE
2.1. PRELIMINARY PRINCIPLES FOR DIGITISATION: GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLES
2.1.1. British Columbia, Canada - pioneers in digitisation
2.1.1.(a). An overview of CSO: court services online
2.1.1.(b). Best practice features identified: education as an integral part of access
2.1.1.(c). Best practice features identified: leadership and accountability
2.1.1.(d). Protecting litigant data in a networked environment
2.1.2. The United Kingdom - towards 'radical simplification': a funnel metaphor
2.1.2.(a). Publicly backed ODR (online dispute resolution)
2.1.2.(b). Compulsory response to online claims
2.1.3. Trinidad and Tobago
2.1.4. The Indian experience
2.1.4.(a). Succinct historical overview
2.1.4.(b). Transformative technology
2.1.4.(c). Budgeting for count infrastructure
2.1.4.(d). Multilingualism
2.1.5. Lessons from across the Commonwealth: When to digitise? 'Less paper' not 'paperless'
2.2. CYBERSECURITY
2.2.1 A Canadian example and report
2.2.2. The court's duty to control its records
2.3. THE OPEN-COURT PRINCIPLE, LITIGANT PRIVACY AND ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS
2.3.1. Narrowly tailored e-disclosure
2.3.2. A step forward 29
2.4. SECURING SIMPLIFIED ONLINE JUSTICE - SELECTED EXAMPLES FROM THE COMMONWEALTH
2.4.1. Limiting the details unleashed digitally to the minimum necessary, contextually and proportionally
2.4.2. 'Keeping the wheels of justice turning': enshrining 'sensible improvements' in Australia 31
2.4.3. The risk of link rot: a particular concern for Commonwealth states 32
2.5. ACCESSIBILITY AND DIGITAL DISADVANTAGE
CHAPTER 3. MAINTAINING AND SHORING UP JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE IN TIMES OF TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION
3.1. LOOKING FORWARD
3.2. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), ASSISTED JUSTICE AND PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS
3.2.1. Examples (UK)
3.2.2. Examples (Trinidad and Tobago)
3.2.3. Why is this important? Judicial independence as a 'pivotal principle of civil procedure'
3.2.4. A specific word on ODR in this context
3.2.4.(a). Illustration: The Canadian Federal Courts CRMS
3.3. SUMMARY OF CHAPTER
CHAPTER 4. CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, PROCEDURAL REFORM (INCLUDING EVIDENCE): COMMON PRACTICES
4.1. SUMMARY
4.2. SHORTENING FIRST INSTANCE PROCEEDINGS
4.2.1. Distilling common features from Commonwealth jurisdictions: examples of the 'culture shift' to individual and collective proportionality
4.2.2. Collaborative lawyering and non-adversarial approaches to practice
4.2.2.(a). UK: The principle of procedural proportionality
4.2.2.(b). Quebec: an ongoing culture shift in lawyering and judging
CHAPTER 5. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1. SUMMARY
5.1.1. Confidence since COVID
5.1.2. A caution: challenges relating to the active (or facilitated) case management model and proportional procedure.
5.1.3. A few additional words of caution: Front-loading and judicial well-being
5.2. RECOMMENDATIONS
5.2.1. Making procedure more pliable
5.2.2. Shifting away from micromanagement: facilitation rather than overly active involvement
5.2.3. Clear standards framing the procurement of court technology
5.3. CONCLUSION
