In May this year, the Ministry of Justice issued a call for evidence from all interested parties, including the judiciary, legal professionals, the media, businesses, academics, law and technology experts and court and tribunal users on how they think the government can uphold and strengthen open justice in the modern age. You can read the details of the consultation process here.
The Introduction to the consultation paper says:
This government is committed to upholding open justice and we continue to implement new services and changes which strengthen the scrutiny and transparency of the justice system
There was a total of 65 questions asked – and we understand there were some organisations that simply lacked the time and resources to complete a set of answers. Nevertheless, we think there has been quite a wide input.
You can read The Transparency Project submission here.
The topic of open justice does of course extend right across the legal system; family courts are only one aspect, if a particularly controversial one.
One of our members, Dr Judith Townend of the Unversity of Sussex, has convened a Courts and Tribunals Observers Network which is publishing a range of responses to the consultation online here. At present, these include:
- Daniel Cloake (Mouse in the Court)
- the Open Justice Court of Protection Project
- the Public Law Project
- Spotlight on Corruption
- Transform Justice
- Unlock
Judith would be pleased to hear from others who would like to add a copy of their response. You can contact her here.