England-and-Wales civil justice ‘dysfunctional’ – MPs
The Law Society of England and Wales has commented following the House of Commons Justice Committee’s findings that County Courts in that jurisdiction have failed to deliver civil justice.
The County Court is a “dysfunctional system that has failed adequately to deliver civil justice” across England and Wales, the report by the committee of MPs warns.
An urgent and comprehensive, root-and-branch review is required to address systemic delays and entrenched inefficiencies across its operations, MPs said.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: “Every one of us should have access to swift and fair justice.
“County courts provide a vital public service for communities and businesses of all sizes. But right now, the wheels of justice are turning too slowly, causing backlogs that have a devastating impact on the people caught in them.
“Recent reforms have not worked. Over 50% of solicitors we surveyed do not believe that the new online portals are effective in delivering justice, with the main impact being delays to the wider justice system.
“Court buildings need repairs, systems and technology must be fit for purpose, and civil legal aid needs urgent investment across all areas. Robust data collection should track and drive systemic improvements.
“If the government properly funded our courts and those who work in them, thousands of people would be freed from the legal limbo caused by long waits.”
Fallen short
The decade-long digital reform programme has fallen well short of its ambition, leaving a myriad of incompatible systems and outdated paper-based processes, the report found.
The committee points to the fact that reviews are currently underway into both sentencing and the criminal courts and that there is a fundamental absence of any equivalent process for civil justice.
In its report on the Work of the County Court published today (July 21), the cross-party committee chaired by Labour MP Andy Slaughter concludes it is “imperative that the improvement of the County Court becomes a key priority of the Ministry of Justice” given the “unacceptable and increasing delays across nearly all types of claims”.
The reform programme was over-ambitious and ultimately under-delivered in its digital transformation, the report said, adding that all future digital reforms should be co-designed with users and stakeholders and must not be rolled out until they had proven reliable through extensive piloting and testing.
Single case-management system
A single case-management system should be introduced to provide real-time status updates for all cases, integrating both reform and legacy systems, it added.
It is very difficult to understand why the County Court continues to rely on paper files, which need to be shipped around the country at great cost.
Paper is a serious cause of the delays in the County Court, the report concludes.
MPs said the County Court estate was in a state of significant disrepair following years of “chronic” underinvestment.
The civil justice quarterly statistics, covering January to March 2025, showed the average time between issue and trial for small claims to be 49.8 weeks, while for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims it stood at 74.7 weeks, the report said.