29th January 2021
The High Court will list a number of personal injuries cases to be heard remotely each day from Tuesday 2 February. The Pexip platform will be used to hear the cases.
A note from High Court President Ms Justice Mary Irvine on the Courts Service website said personal Injuries actions would be listed for a remote hearing only if the consent of both parties had been notified to the court at a call over of cases for the following week to take place on the preceding Wednesday.
The first of these callovers took place on 27 January 2021.
Ongoing review
Depending on demand, the court will list up to four such cases each day, with priority given to cases already fixed for hearing in the Hilary Term.
The note includes guidance for solicitors on the delivery of documentation for cases to be heard remotely.
It also stresses that a remote hearing should not be sought “in any case in which it is proposed to introduce any document by way of surprise or where a party is unwilling to disclose, in advance, any material upon which they intend to rely”.
The High Court President says the efficacy of these hearings will be kept under review, in consultation with both branches of the legal profession.
