David Greene, the president, wrote to HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the senior presiding judge last week to outline fears about the safety of solicitors and other court users.
‘Since the third national lockdown was announced we have received a significant amount of feedback from our members expressing serious concerns about the safety of court buildings, despite assurances from HMCTS that they are Covid-secure for the new variant,’ Greene said.
‘To date we have welcomed the steps the government has taken to make court and tribunal buildings as safe as possible, however government figures showing a record daily reported 1,564 new fatalities and 47,525 new infections cannot be ignored. By its nature, unless remotely accessed, the court process throws people together in limited space.’
He called for ‘urgent action’ to safeguard court users and justice system professionals. As well as the fortnight’s pause, the Law Society called for a move to video by default in all Crown courts and magistrates’ courts.
Greene said: ‘We recognise that this conflicts with the imperative to mitigate the growing backlog of cases in the courts.
‘However, if the current situation continues, there is almost certain to be a significant loss of capacity due to court closures following outbreaks of Coronavirus, and due to staff, lawyers, judiciary and parties falling sick. We believe the measures we propose represent the least bad option for ensuring that courts can continue to operate safely.’
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