Law360, London: HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has insisted that a widely-reported technical problem did not affect cases, saying an internal investigation found 'no evidence' of an impact on outcomes.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has published a summary of enhancements to the Standard Directions Order (SDO) process, which are now live in the online digital portals for online civil money claims (OCMC) and the damages claims portal (DCP) and reflected in the SDO journey for judges and legal advisers and in generated orders. The enhancements, requested by the judiciary, court staff, legal representatives and in response to technical issues identified in the system, include revised default case management dates and updated wording across SDOs. Default dates remain amendable and the requirement for a separate witness statement on impecuniosity in credit hire claims has been removed.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has confirmed that its modernised criminal case management system, Common Platform, will become the central hub for all magistrates’ and Crown Court cases, documents and scheduling. HMCTS notes that it is building tools to transfer data from legacy systems, including Libra Web, Court Store and Xhibit, into Common Platform. It is also developing a new system, Opal, to replace an outdated tool for managing criminal fines, collection and enforcement, with changes being coordinated to prevent disruption to court services.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has announced that it will pilot an artificial intelligence (AI) case readiness assistant at Inner London Crown Court from October 2026 to help court staff identify outstanding actions and missing information earlier in Crown Court cases. The tool will review case information and highlight potential readiness issues to support case preparation, reduce delays and improve court-time utilisation. Court staff will remain responsible for reviewing outputs and determining any action, while judicial functions, including listing decisions, will remain unchanged. The pilot forms part of efforts by HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice to explore AI across the justice system, including transcription, summarisation, anonymisation and search and assistant capabilities within case management systems.

HMCTS has provided an update on Alexandra House in Manchester.  The update, set out below, explains the impact on hearings, which reflects the position agreed between HMCTS and the judiciary.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has published a blog providing an update on the reform plans to civil, family and tribunals. The completion date for the reforms has been extended from March 2024 to March 2025. The civil enforcement reforms will take place outside of the reform programme in 2025 and 2026. Work will continue to be moved to the five Service Centres although future movement of work is dependent on the digital reforms. National Business Centre continue to support HMCTS despite the transition to digital being slower than anticipated.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has published a letter from its Senior Responsible Owner and Service Owner, Tracy Parker-Priest, to the legal community providing an update on implementation of the 24-week statutory timeframe for determining specified appeals in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC), following Royal Assent of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 (BSAIA 2025) on 2 December 2025.

The Employment Tribunal’s President Support Office has confirmed via email that the anticipated Practice Direction on the presentation of both claims and responses is currently still awaiting approval from the Lord Chancellor but is expected to be approved in line with the projected implementation date for the ET Procedural Rules 2024 of 6 January 2025.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has updated the EX50 and EX50A guidance to reflect updated Civil and Family Court Fees as of 8 April 2025. This update includes changes to the main fees for civil and family court services. The full list of civil court fees are available in the EX50A document.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has published a release note introducing a change to the Financial Remedy Service portal to enable automatic case assignment to solicitors. Previously, when a solicitor was added to a case, access was not granted immediately and the case appeared in the solicitor organisation’s ‘unassigned cases’ list, requiring a case access administrator (CAA) to assign it to the solicitor. Under the updated process, solicitors will automatically receive direct access when added to a case, removing the need for manual assignment. The change is intended to reduce delays, enable solicitors to begin work immediately and minimise correspondence with court staff relating to case access.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has published a release note confirming that solicitors can now update their own contact details on the Financial Remedy Service portal. Under the previous financial remedy case management process, solicitors who wanted to update contact details were unable to do this directly. They were required to contact either the Financial Remedy Centre or the relevant local court to request removal. A new system feature, ‘Update Contact Details’, has been introduced. This enhancement allows solicitors to update their contact details without the need to contact the Financial Remedy Centre. Once completed the case record will be updated to reflect the correct contact details. Solicitors can amend their own contact details by selecting ‘Update Contact Details’. The system will display all currently recorded information. Any field can be updated by navigating to it and entering the relevant changes. For solicitors, the new functionality provides greater autonomy and operational efficiency. Key benefits include enhanced accuracy of professional details on the system. As updates can be made in real time, the risk of missed communications is reduced. Workflows are streamlined, saving time previously spent contacting courts and following up on administrative actions and improved service as solicitors can promptly update representation status in accordance with instructions or judicial direction.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has updated the English version of Form N215 Certificate of Service in civil cases, and in doing so has also introduced a new statement of truth. The formatting of the form has changed but the content to be recorded in it remains the same with additional notes being provided to aid completion of the form.