PILOT PROJECT: 'fully tooled-up electronic court is a necessity, not a luxury,' says LSLA


The electronic filing of documents in England and Wales courts looks likely to be delayed by at least a year, the Gazette can reveal



A full pilot project for integrated e-filing and issue, planned for the Commercial Court and known as phase two of CC IT, will now not go ahead until 2009, with live systems in courts unlikely to happen until 2010.



Until now, those involved in CC IT had believed that a 2008 pilot date was intended.



Backers of the Commercial Court are convinced that an e-filing and payments system must be in place when its new building is finished, planned for 2010. But because e-filing must now be handed over from existing IT contractors to new ones, and because they are now responsible for serving the larger Ministry of Justice with no more money, any pilot of an integrated system will have to wait until 2009, the Gazette has learned.



The 2009 timing allows well under a year to pilot, test and assess phase two of CC IT before the new Business Court building is finished. The Courts Service told the Gazette that phase two is now part of the national e-filing and document management programme (EFDM) and will not 'commence' until 2009. The service now expects to 'go live' in a number of courts within a year of piloting, but also denied any delays to CC IT.



Anthony Maton, secretary of the London Solicitors Litigation Association, said the setback was a blow to the court. 'While the LSLA understands the rationale for this delay, to ensure consistency and save cost, it deeply regrets the further delay. A fully tooled-up electronic Commercial Court is a necessity, not a luxury. Everything should be done as quickly as possible to make this a reality.'



The CC IT project is already several years late. In its latest annual report, the Commercial Court said the timetable for phase two 'is likely to be extended it' but it 'hoped' a pilot scheme will be conducted during 2008/09.



Tony Guise, chairman of the Commercial Litigation Association, said further delays would be 'unacceptable'. 'Despite a dramatic increase in court fees over recent years, the government's investment into one its greatest contributors of invisible earnings is itself almost invisible,' he said.



Rupert White