Keeping the administration of justice going remotely - managing the challenges

Keeping the administration of justice going remotely - managing the challenges

This webinar was delivered on Thursday 21st May 2020 and was chaired by William Longrigg (England). IAFL were honoured that Sir Alistair MacDonald QC, Mr Justice MacDonald, High Court Judge in England and Wales, delivered the Keynote Speech. The panel of speakers were Kristen Normandin (Canada) Hon. Ellen Gesmer (New York, USA), Jason Walker (Australia) and Adelaide Benneh Prempeh (Ghana).

Mr Justice MacDonald authored ‘The Remote Access Family Court’ in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Version 1 was published by the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary Service on 23rd March 2020 and extended to 32 pages. By 16th April 2020 it was onto Version 4 and 55 pages long. It is a remarkable piece of work covering the practical and legal issues that arise from ‘the unprecedented challenge to the provision of core public services that are traditionally delivered face to face’.

The panel of speakers discussed how the courts and practitioners in their respective jurisdictions had been dealing with the elements of their judicial systems that were particularly affected by the pandemic: dealing with disputed facts; remote oral argument; access to justice issues and children’s participation.