HM Courts & Tribunals Service has released an online system for potential jurors to submit their responses to being summoned.
It said the Juror Digital system will enable people called for jury duty to confirm their availability, request a different date, or authorise someone else to respond for them online. Forms accepting a summons will be automatically uploaded to online court systems.
It has gone live after a pilot scheme showed almost a fifth (19%) of the 12,000 jurors who tested the system responded within seven days, compared to just 1% when using the old paper form.
Justice Minister Lucy Frazer (pictured) said: “It makes complete sense to move more of our court processes online to fit around our busy modern lives. This impressive new system is a great example of how we are making it quicker and easier for people to exercise their democratic duty.
“We’ve already made it possible for people to apply for a divorce, appeal a tax bill and make a small money claim online and this is the next common sense step to continue modernising our justice system.”
The paper form will remain available for people who prefer it and HMCT will provide telephone support for anyone who needs help using the new system.
The Juror Digital scheme is the latest step in the £1 billion modernisation programme for the courts system. Other recent launches have included the online divorce application, a trial system for dealing with offenders caught dodging travel fares, and a pilot of hearings on tax appeals via video link.
Image by Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0
