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‘Legacy behaviours’ render courts less effective – chief

Plain English experts have been brought in to work on Courts Service websites, to make them easier to navigate for those with literacy difficulties, Chief Executive Angela Denning told the Law Society-sponsored Access to Justice conference at the weekend.

While the site also must serve legal professionals, the average adult reading age in Ireland is nine, and one-in-six adults can’t read a bus timetable, Denning said.

The site will also see an increasing use of video and infographics in the future.

While the service would have preferred “slow, steady change,” it was thrown into a 'Big Bang'-style change with the onset of the pandemic, Denning said.

Urgent business was prioritised, and a digital-first approach adopted.

Remote courts will only improve, the chief executive promised, and the Courts Service has seen an increased demand for remote-witness testimony, eliminating costly travel and waiting times.

Remote courts also remove some of the unseen barriers to justice for those with physical disabilities and for those in poverty, she said.

Dial in 

Increasing numbers of participants in insolvency proceedings can also simply dial in, she added.

“We run an operation the size of a small town every day,” the chief executive said, which last year, despite the pandemic, dealt with 15,500 probate applications, 13,200 supervision and care orders, and managed €1.98 billion in investments for 2,500 wards of court.

Last year, the District Court dealt with 382,000 incoming events, out of 415,992 criminal matters, handled by 1,000 staff in 33 court offices across the country.

Nineteen county registrars support the work of 176 judges, soon to be 181, working alongside 20,500 solicitors and 2,300 barristers.

The spend last year was €155 million, including €32 million in fee income.

Rapid access

Service users now expect rapid access to high-quality services, driven by digital technology, Denning said.

Countries with trusted justice systems have higher GDP per capita, and legal certainty promotes competition and investment, she added.

However, the Irish courts system is well behind other international jurisdictions in leveraging the full potential of digital technology, Denning said.

“Traditional service models need to align or be redesigned to meet the needs of citizens and businesses,” Denning said, with the goal of more transparent, accountable and effective public services.

Fragmented IT

“We have a fragmented IT landscape and a multitude of IT systems that don’t talk to each other,” Denning warned, with outdated technology that requires significant investment.

“Legacy practices and behaviours, which have existed for decades, render the courts system less effective than it could be otherwise,” she said.

A long-term reform vision will deliver benefits to the broader justice and civil sector.

“We’ve recruited to bring in skills that we didn’t have in-house,” Denning said, including a chief information officer, and a head of data and digital research, a head of communication, health-and-safety officer, procurement specialist, and a knowledge manager.

Deloitte has been engaged for a three-year period as part of the reform package.

Solicitor Eamonn Conlon told the conference, meanwhile, that ALG got help from the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) when drawing up engagement letters for pro bono clients.

Conlon said he realised that legal terms, such as 'liability', were not always understood.

"Sometimes making legal concepts clear actually requires clarification in our own minds, because we have a lack of understanding ourselves, and are buried in jargon," he commented.

Conlon added that he was glad to see the Law Society produce a guide to clear writing for solicitors, which was a very good start.

"This is an area, unfortunately, where legal professionals have a lot of work to do," he said.