UK Supreme Court & Judicial Committee of the Privy Council prepare to unveil new user portal and websites

A brand-new case management portal and two new websites will be launched later in the year for legal professionals and members of the public who use the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC). The portal will enable users to file court documents digitally and track the progress of their case in real time at their own convenience. The websites - one for both the UKSC and the JCPC - will provide a comprehensive overview of the Court's legal and educational work, as well as an improved method of allowing legal professionals, school groups and members of the public to book tours, meeting rooms and events. Both the portal and websites have been created with Court users in mind, making interactions with the Court as effortless as possible.

The portal and websites form part of the UKSC's wide-ranging three-year Change Programme, now in its final year. The vision of the Change Programme is to transform the UKSC and JCPC into modern, world-leading courts, which are customer-centric, open and transparent. This will lead to increased levels of public awareness and trust, whilst always putting users at its heart. The new systems will complement and enhance not only the judicial functions of the Court, but also its educational remit, as it showcases and explains the UK's judicial system to both domestic and international visitors.

In line with best practice, the portal will interact with the websites, for example, publishing online updates on cases drawn from new information originally uploaded to the portal.

When the new portal is launched, detailed user-friendly instructional guides and a suite of videos will be made available online, enabling users to get the maximum benefit from the new system.

The success of the Change Programme has been made possible through engagement with our users prior to the portal and websites going live. To date, we have engaged with almost 350 external users as part of our testing and research. These covered the entire range of Court users, including legal professionals, academics, the public and the many tourists who visit the Court.

More detailed information about the new portal and websites will be available closer to December.

Background information:

The UK Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for UK civil cases, and for criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It hears appeals on arguable points of law of public importance and is a leader in the common law world. The Court is comprised of twelve Justices, led by its President The Right Hon The Lord Reed of Allermuir.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the court of final appeal for UK overseas territories and Crown dependencies, as well as serving Commonwealth countries that have retained the appeal to HM The King in Council, or in the case of republics, to the Judicial Committee.