Since the Coronavirus pandemic hit the UK in March 2020, things have changed throughout the country and indeed the rest of the world. In spite of the closure of many businesses and services in order to minimise the spread of the virus, the courts have been one much needed service that have remained open. Of course, the way hearings were previously carried out has had to change to ensure that the courts are covid safe for both employees at the court and the public who use the facilities.

The way that the courts have continued to hear cases is using remote hearings which usually happens via the telephone or video conferencing.  This allows anyone who still needs to use the services of the family court to have their case heard fairly as before, but in a safe way in the current climate.

Domestic abuse victims are able to request that the court makes arrangements for their safety during a hearing. The family Justice Council has specific guidance about this if you follow this link.

Litigants in Person

Please see our article about self representation to find out what it means to be a litigant in person. You can find specific advice if you are representing yourself in court here.

Applying to Court

You can find guidance here about applying to court and it is also a good idea to contact your court to find out how they are dealing with applications since some courts are operating differently. Most of them are now accepting emailed applications so you don’t have to attend the court building at all. You should be aware that many courts are operating using a reduced number of staff so you may struggle to get through to the court at times.

How do Remote Hearings Work?

Remote hearings are designed to enable applicants and respondents to have their case heard without having to attend the court in person. This is done using technology in order to comply with Government guidance surrounding the pandemic to ensure that all parties are able to stay at home. There is no guidance however to specify that one particular method of communication should be used and so the courts can use one of a variety of technologies including a telephone conference call, BT MeetMe, Skype for Business, or their own Cloud Video Platform (CVP).

You can find guidance here about using remote hearing technology and the court should send you details in advance about the platform you will be using. It is a good idea to familiarise yourself with this before the date of your hearing.

In the case that one party has poor internet connection or if they are unable to use the platform that the court would normally use, the hearing would usually go ahead over video conference instead.

Hybrid Hearings

in some cases, a party may attend a court in person and other participants of the case would attend remotely. If you are called to court in person, you and a legal representative if you have one would attend the court. If you are shielding, you should make the court aware of this so that alternative arrangements can be made.

Urgent Hearings

As usual, the court will prioritise cases that are of an urgent nature. This is for example if a parent is at risk of leaving the country with the child or if the child is in danger. Just as the High Court have used in the past, the family courts are using a similar procedure to hold emergency hearings over the telephone. You can find information about the injunctions or urgent orders in relation to children should be prioritised by the court. The court is used to dealing with emergency telephone hearings in the High Court. A similar procedure is likely to now be used in the rest of the Family Court.

you can use this link to learn about the types of cases that the court considers to be urgent and will therefore prioritise.