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Remote hearings for family courts 'horribly cruel'
Jun 4, 2020
Court hearings held remotely in lockdown have disadvantaged vulnerable people and should not be used longer term, lawyers and charities have said.
They said people faced "paying to access justice" with internet costs for remote hearings and lost opportunities for help and legal representation.
Family law practitioners said video and phone calls were not suitable for some sensitive cases.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service said it would consider court users' feedback.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, so-called "priority courts" have remained open for urgent cases that could not be conducted over video link or phone, but other hearings, such as cases over guardianship of children, have been carried out remotely.
From 23 March - when lockdown began - to 6 April, audio hearings across all courts and tribunals in England and Wales increased by more than 500%, and video hearings by 340%, the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory said.
Family lawyer Valerie Cox said the judiciary was "trying extremely hard" in unexpected circumstances but the experience for families was "very poor".
She said remote hearings meant for some people "if you don't have enough data on your phone to attend a hearing, you're paying to access justice".
She added: "Disadvantaged people often find it very hard to engage, you might phone a parent who doesn't answer your call and answer your statement but the one thing they will do is go to court.
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