Courts and Tribunals Weekly Operational Update - Coronavirus: week commencing Monday 29 March 2021

HMCTS weekly operational update during coronavirus outbreak

HMCTS operational summary for week commencing Monday 29 March 2021

Next week’s update will be issued on Thursday 1 April 2021.

Crime

  • Updated: Common Platform is the new digital case management system for HMCTS, the judiciary, and professional court users. By the end of April 2021, it is scheduled to go live in selected courts in the Midlands, Wales, the north-west, the north-east and the south-west. We are contacting the defence firms and chambers working with these courts and asking them to register their legal practitioners now for user accounts.
  • Updated: Following the Lord Chief Justice’s message on recovery (17 March 2021), court lists in magistrates’ courts will be adjusted for those involved in proceedings to attend in person where the court has directed this, in the interests of justice and where it is safe to do so. The safe operation of the courts continues to be our primary consideration and remote hearings still play an integral part in managing footfall in our buildings safely.
  • Updated: The Crown Court is hearing all types of applications and cases, including multi-hander trials. Where appropriate, judges continue to deal with a range of work remotely, including sentencing hearings.

Family

  • Family courts continue to prioritise work as agreed with the President of the Family Division. Work levels are slowly returning to pre-COVID levels and we are working hard to return this to 100%, in a COVID-safe way.

Civil

Tribunals

Royal Courts of Justice

Judicial announcements