When Simple Procedure was
first introduced in November 2016 to deal with cases up to the value of £5,000 an
online case management system was promised to go with it. Our article, There's a Simple Procedure for dealing with commercial debt recovery by Marianne Stirling in November 2017
assessed the new procedures in the lead up to the delayed online system,
branded as ‘Civil Online’ going live on 13 March 2018 and then our article Civil Online is now live in March 2018 announced its launch.
Now that we are over a year and a half down the line, questions are being asked about the success of its introduction and the ways that it can be used in the future to move the court system into the digital age.
Current form of Civil Online
Civil Online allows the main steps of a Simple Procedure court action to be completed online. Raising an action through a claim form, defending an action through a response form and asking the court for a decision in the action can all be done on the online system. Additionally, all other simple procedure forms, as well as any evidence to be used in the action can be uploaded online. Partially completed claim and response forms can be saved online and court fees paid online through a court account. It also has functionality to send notifications directly and immediately to a Civil Online account when there has been an update on a case.
Whilst Civil Online has certainly been a great step forward, it is by no means a perfect system. There have been teething problems since its introduction, which is perhaps understandable when introducing a new system such as this.
Complaints include the complicated log-in process and not all the simple procedure forms being included in the system. For the forms that have not yet been digitalised, they need to be downloaded, completed and then uploaded to the online system. This is clearly not as streamlined as would have been hoped. It is also currently difficult to manage cases in bulk due to technology not supporting automatic input of responses into the system.
Overall progress is positive - actions can be raised more quickly and processed faster.
As the trend towards paper-lite offices continues, Civil Online supports this more streamlined process and helps avoid the inevitable issues that come with paper copies.
Due to the positive impact that Civil Online could have, improving functionality and resolving the teething issues would only further enhance the process and this would be widely welcomed.
The future of civil online
The first ever case successfully completed digitally from start to finish in Aberdeen this year reinforcing that the way forward is towards full digitalisation.
In his speech at the Opening of the Legal Year 2019-20 for the Judiciary of Scotland, the Lord President, Lord Carloway said ‘online cannot be viewed as an option or alternative to the court system; it is the future of our court system.’
It certainly seems that this is the case, with the Courts indicating that there will be further progress with the system over the next few years. It is also suggested that API (Application Programming Interface) technology will be introduced to allow any data input to be converted into the required format. This automation will offer a greater capacity for raising claims in bulk, further increasing productivity.
The Courts have also indicated that the provision allowing hearings such as Case Management Discussions to take place over the phone will begin to be implemented. As this will be up to individual Courts some may be faster than others to implement it, however this change would inevitably reduce both the cost and time taken in attending at court.
The future is a fully digital service, and at some point it will likely become mandatory. We may not be quite there yet, but do recognise how important it is to be on board with the evolving nature of the online system, and able to adapt and to implement the changes as and when they occur.
