Fresh guidance from the judiciary on electronic bundles highlights just how difficult it is for litigants in person to navigate the court system, the Law Society has said.

In a notice published on Tuesday, senior judges said electronic bundles in the financial remedies court had moved from being fairly rare to almost universal in the past two years, which they described as an ‘excellent outcome’. However, they had been informed that guidance on electronic bundle preparation for litigants in person required a ‘modest degree of clarification’.

The guidance states that the obligation to produce forms ES1 and ES2 applied as much to litigants in person as it does to represented parties. ES1 is a case summary. ES2 records assets, liabilities and income values.

‘We recognise that there may be circumstances when the applicant LIP simply has insufficient IT ability to prepare the bundle. If this happens than that person should contact the court and explain the difficulty as far as possible in advance of the relevant court hearing,’ the guidance says. ‘Where possible that person should suggest a practical way of overcoming the problem, which may be that the respondent should be invited to prepare the bundle. A respondent in this situation is encouraged to offer assistance where possible.’

If neither party has sufficient IT ability to prepare a bundle, ‘then the court will have to do its best to find a solution which overcomes the problem’.

The Law Society welcomed the guidance but I. Stephanie Boyce, president, said it highlighted the continuing problems faced by litigants in person trying to navigate the court system.

Ministry of Justice data shows that the proportion of cases where both parties were represented was 41% in the three months preceding the legal aid cuts. Towards the end of last year, it was 21%.

Boyce said: ‘Often forced to represent themselves due to a lack of legal aid, litigants in person can struggle to understand court procedures and their legal entitlements. This struggle can be exacerbated by the increased digitisation of court processes, which the courts system must ensure doesn’t leave people behind. Providing legal aid for early advice in family cases would help divert litigants from the court system towards mediation and the early resolution of their cases.’

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'While legal aid is remains available for the most serious family cases, such as those involving domestic abuse, our £3m family mediation scheme is already helping thousands of families to resolve disputes without going to court.

'We are also investing £12.1m across a number of schemes to provide guidance and support for those who represent themselves in the civil and family courts.'

In 2020, the MoJ announced a £3m grant in partnership with the Access to Justice Foundation to support litigants in person in civil, family and tribunal issues, building on the £9m invested since 2015 through its existing litigants in person support strategy. The department said the HM Courts & Tribunals Service reform programme is also working to make the justice system easier to understand and navigate.