School of Law

What is Court 21?

Court 21 is an academic partnership between the School of Law, the Informatics Research Institute and the Business School of the University of Leeds in conjunction with the Courtroom 21 project and CourtCom Ltd.

The impact of IT on the justice system

Court21 is a project that examines how the adoption of technology will impact on the the processes of the justice system.

The criminal and civil justice processes are a series of decision-making forums where people resolve a multitude of legal conflicts and disputes. These range from dispute resolution and arbitration, through to court processes, through to the appeals courts.

Information technology has gradually been introduced into each forum and is beginning to shape them. The UK government has, for example, recently invested upwards of £1bn in IT for the various courts systems.

But little is known about the impact of IT upon justice processes, upon the symbolic position of the resolution processes within society and, more specifically, upon changes in the structure of the relevant legal professions, or upon the way that the various justice institutions are beginning to interact.

The future for justice?

Simply put: will the technologisation of the courts be confined to a a physical exercise in the installation of workplace equipment, without legal or social implications, akin to fitting out courts with electric light bulbs or central heating?

Or will the justice processes in the new information age have to adapt to the implications of globalisation and glocalisation in terms of trans-jurisdictionality and networked justice processes?

And if, as is the thesis of this project, technologicalisation will be transformative, then in what directions will and should the transformations in law and social professional and public practices take shape?