Remote hearings - practice and learning from Australia and New Zealand: research findings
Paper 1 in a series of 3 short ‘intelligence’ Research Findings papers on the use of remote hearings across jurisdictions during the 2020 pandemic – Australia and New Zealand.
Technology
As with issues above we found two sides to the discussion of technology used for remote hearings.
An article on Doughty Street Chambers website suggested that the pandemic has exposed the inadequacy of the technology available to conduct any hearing without physically attending a court building. They were optimistic about this issue and believed that not only should the technology improve but it would do so. They also pointed out that hearings can be adjourned should the Judge decide the technology is not facilitating the passage of justice[11].
An article on the Australian Public Law website differed, suggesting that technological failure in remote hearings is not just practical, rather it is an issue of principle, access to justice and equalities. This centered on the argument of accessibility and pointed out that there is no equality in access to digital technology (see above on accessibility)[12].
Contact
Email: socialresearch@gov.scot
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