HMCTS monthly bulletin - May 2022

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Keeping you updated with news about the reform programme

Issue 47  |  3 May 2022

Client and lawyer discuss matters over a desk

“Blame game” ends as no-fault divorce is introduced

The new online system for divorce went live on 6 April as landmark reforms aimed at reducing conflict between separating couples came into force.


News Headlines

Judgments available to search and browse online

Court and tribunal judgments are now freely available from The National Archives through the Find Case Law site, and are available for anyone to use.

Courts to work at full capacity for a second year

The government announced that there will be no cap on Crown Court sitting days for the second financial year in a row.

Justice bills receive Royal Assent

The government has passed four major justice bills, designed to provide better protection for the public and help restore confidence in the criminal justice system.

BSL is now a recognised language in Britain

Deaf people requiring the use of a sign language interpreter will be allowed to take part in jury service for the first time.

Magistrates' sentencing powers increased

Magistrates are now able to issue prison sentences of up to one year for a single offence, which aims to help reduce outstanding cases in the Crown Court.

Making courts and tribunals more accessible to all

We have updated our vulnerability action plan. It sets out the work we’re doing to ensure vulnerable court users are not disadvantaged or discriminated against.

Other News

More than 97% of offenders on sobriety tags have stayed off alcohol, a year after courts have been able to order offenders to wear them as part of a sentence.

Each week we publish a summary of our latest operational position for court users. You can sign up to receive this information directly by email.

You can watch a recording of our webinar on the new divorce service. You can also view the webinar slides and watch our instructional videos

We published management information for February 2021 to February 2022. We use this information to understand workload volumes and timeliness nationally.

The Ministry of Justice has published criminal court quarterly civil justice statistics and family court quarterly civil justice statistics.

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