[English] - [Cymraeg]
Hello, I’m Kevin Gallagher and I lead HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s Digital Change Directorate.
On 1 and 2 July I was lucky enough to be one of the judges for the Online Courts Hackathon event co-hosted by the Society for Computers and Law, Legal Geek, the Judiciary of England and Wales and HM Courts & Tribunals Service.
The Hackathon brought together lawyers, court users, law students, and digital enthusiasts to develop innovative solutions to real-life challenges - all to be completed in one continuous 24 hour period. Over 400 people applied to fill the 220 places.
What are online courts?
The Online Courts Hackathon challenged teams to design various tools in 24 hours that would support online courts. So what are online courts? The first generation of online courts will involve judges deciding cases on the basis of evidence and argument submitted electronically. Online courts will provide greater access to justice in a more cost efficient way than the conventional court system.
Richard Susskind OBE, President of the Society of Computers and Law – and one of the pioneers behind the Hackathon idea - summed it up perfectly: “Online courts are likely to be the most significant development in our court system since the nineteenth century, enabling far greater and affordable access to justice. We were bowled over by the response to the Hackathon.”
The challenge
The Hackathon challenged teams to design tools to solve a range of issues such as making forms more accessible and easy to complete, developing negotiating and settlement tools to help resolve disputes before they escalate and solving the bundles problem (also known as a plastic-bag-full-of-paper problem).
Thirty teams pitched their ideas and reported on their progress on building their solution. After a short-listing phase, nine teams got four minutes in front of the full panel of judges and other attendees. My fellow judges were:
- Mrs Justice May, High Court judge;
- Mrs Justice Carr, High Court judge;
- Amanda Finlay, Chair of Law for Life;
- Chris James, Technology Lawyer, SCL Trustee; and
- James Moore, Co-founder, F-Lex Legal.
Hackathon winners
The winning suggestion came from Wavelength/Law Society. It progressed from the diagnosis of a chest complaint in a doctor’s surgery through each stage of a possible claim against a landlord, using slick ‘pathfinder’ technology and voice interaction with COLIN (the Courts OnLINe help agent).
The runners-up, TeamPM from Pinsent Masons, presented ‘MobiMapper’, a case visualisation and argument mapper which narrows the issues of a case into a single document that a litigant in person might bring to court.
I felt it was a great opportunity for HMCTS to be involved in something so innovative. It brought home to me the importance of the work we’re doing to reform the justice system – the cliché “once in a life-time” really does apply to what we’re trying to achieve.
It was a pleasure to be involved in this year’s Hackathon. I’m sure it will be the first of many and expect all future events will be as successful. Don’t just take my word for it – have a look yourself by searching #OnlineCourts on Twitter.
HMCTS as a digital organisation
Events such as the Hackathon promote good practice and share clever ideas, but they will also highlight the number of challenges we face. For me, the biggest challenge will be creating a cultural shift across our organisation that moves us from non-digital to digital.
HMCTS has a loyal, committed and knowledgeable workforce, many of whom have worked in courts and tribunals for a number of years. Importantly, it is our workforce leading us into becoming a digital organisation as they are the same people who deal directly with our users every day. They know what will and won’t work for our customers.
Becoming a digital organisation is about putting our service delivery at the heart of everything we do to meet the expectations of today’s society. HMCTS is on an exciting digital journey and I’m proud to be part of it.
[English] - [Cymraeg]
Yr Hacathon Llysoedd Ar-lein gan Kevin Gallagher, Cyfarwyddwr Newid Digidol
Helo, fy enw i yw Kevin Gallagher ac rwy’n arwain Cyfarwyddiaeth Newid Digidol Gwasanaeth Llysoedd a Thribiwnlysoedd Ei Mawrhydi.
Ar 1 a 2 Gorffennaf, roeddwn i’n ffodus iawn i fod yn un o’r barnwyr ar gyfer yr Hacathon Llysoedd Ar-lein, a gynhaliwyd ar y cyd gan y Gymdeithas Cyfrifiaduron a’r Gyfraith, Legal Geek, Barnwriaeth Cymru a Lloegr a Gwasanaeth Llysoedd a Thribiwnlysoedd EM.
Roedd yr Hacathon yn dod â chyfreithwyr, defnyddwyr llys, myfyrwyr y gyfraith ac unigolion sy'n frwdfrydig am bethau digidol ynghyd, i ddatblygu datrysiadau arloesol i heriau go iawn – a’r cwbl i'w gwblhau o fewn un cyfnod parhaus o 24 awr. Bu i dros 400 o bobl wneud cais i lenwi'r 220 o lefydd oedd ar gael.
Beth yw llysoedd ar-lein?
Roedd yr Hacathon Llysoedd Ar-lein yn herio timau i ddylunio nifer o raglenni o fewn 24 awr a fyddai’n cefnogi llysoedd ar-lein. Felly beth yw llysoedd ar-lein? Bydd cenhedlaeth gyntaf y llysoedd ar-lein yn golygu y bydd barnwyr yn penderfynu ar achosion yn seiliedig ar dystiolaeth a dadleuon a gyflwynir mewn ffurf electronig. Bydd llysoedd ar-lein yn gwella mynediad at gyfiawnder mewn ffordd sy’n fwy cost-effeithiol na’r system llysoedd confensiynol.
Bu i Richard Susskind OBE, Llywydd y Gymdeithas Cyfrifiaduron a'r Gyfraith - ac un o arloeswyr y syniad Hacathon – ei ddisgrifio’n berffaith: “Mae’n debyg mai’r llysoedd ar-lein fydd y datblygiad mwyaf arwyddocaol yn ein system llysoedd ers y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg, gan alluogi mynediad llawer mwy fforddiadwy at gyfiawnder i lawer mwy o bobl. Roeddem wedi synnu gan yr ymateb i’r Hacathon."
Yr her
Roedd yr hacathon yn herio'r timau i ddylunio rhaglenni i ddatrys nifer o broblemau megis gwneud ffurflenni mwy hygyrch ac yn haws i'w llenwi, datblygu rhaglenni negodi a setlo i helpu i ddatrys anghydfodau cyn iddynt ddwysáu a datrys y broblem bwndeli (a elwir hefyd y broblem bag-plastig-yn-llawn-papur).
Cyflwynodd 30 tîm eu syniadau ac adrodd am eu cynnydd wrth ddatblygu eu datrysiadau. Ar ôl penderfynu ar restr fer, cafodd naw tîm bedwar munud yr un o flaen y panel barnu llawn a mynychwyr eraill. Fy nghyd-farnwyr oedd:
- Mrs Justice May, Barnwr yr Uchel Lys;
- Mrs Justice Carr, Barnwr yr Uchel Lys;
- Amanda Finlay, Cadeirydd Law for Life;
- Chris James, Cyfreithiwr Technoleg, Ymddiriedolwr y Gymdeithas Cyfrifiaduron a’r Gyfraith
- James Moore, Cyd-sefydlydd, F-Lex Legal.
Enillwyr y Hacathon
Daeth y syniad buddugol gan Wavelength/Cymdeithas y Gyfraith. Roedd yn dangos y broses o ddiagnosis salwch y frest mewn meddygfa ymlaen trwy bob cam o hawliad posib yn erbyn landlord, gan ddefnyddio technoleg ‘canfod llwybr’ llyfn a rhyngweithio llais â COLIN (asiant cynorthwyol digidol y Llysoedd Ar-lein).
Cyflwynodd y tîm yn yr ail safle, TeamPM o Pinsent Masons, ‘MobiMapper’, sef rhaglen a oedd yn mapio achosion a dadleuon gan grynhoi materion achos i un ddogfen y byddai ymgyfreithiwr drosto’i hun efallai’n dod i’r llys efo nhw.
Roeddwn i’n teimlo ei fod yn gyfle gwych i GLlTEM fod yn rhan o rywbeth mor arloesol. Cefais fy atgoffa am bwysigrwydd y gwaith rydym yn ei wneud i ddiwygio’r system cyfiawnder – mae’r cliché “unwaith mewn oes” wir yn berthnasol i’r hyn rydym yn ceisio ei gyflawni.
Roedd yn bleser cael bod yn rhan o Hacathon eleni. Rwy’n siŵr mai hwn fydd y cyntaf o lawer ohonynt, a disgwyliaf y bydd yr holl ddigwyddiadau yn y dyfodol yr un mor llwyddiannus. Ond peidiwch â derbyn fy marn i - beth am chwilio am #OnlineCourts ar Trydar a chael golwg arno eich hunan.
GLlTEM fel sefydliad digidol
Mae digwyddiadau fel yr Hacathon yn hybu arferion da ac yn gyfle i rannu syniadau clyfar, ond byddant hefyd yn amlygu nifer o’r heriau rydym yn eu hwynebu. I mi, yr her fwyaf bydd ysgogi symudiad diwylliannol ar draws ein sefydliad sy’n ein hebrwng i'r byd digidol.
Mae gan GLlTEM weithlu ffyddlon, ymrwymedig a gwybodus ac mae llawer ohonynt wedi gweithio mewn llysoedd a thribiwnlysoedd am lawer o flynyddoedd. Ein gweithlu sy'n ein harwain i fod yn sefydliad digidol, oherwydd nhw yw'r bobl sy'n delio â'n defnyddwyr bob dydd yn uniongyrchol. Nhw sy’n gwybod beth fydd yn gweithio a beth fydd ddim yn gweithio i’n cwsmeriaid.
Mae dod yn sefydliad digidol yn golygu rhoi darparu gwasanaethau wrth galon popeth rydym yn ei wneud i gwrdd â disgwyliadau cymdeithas heddiw. Mae GLlTEM yn dilyn taith ddigidol gyffrous, ac rwy’n falch o fod yn rhan ohoni.
2 comments
Comment by Claire Sandbrook posted on
Dear Mr Gallagher - I am pleased to read the transparency which is happening in relation to the digitization of HMCTS. For me, it is a shame that HMCTS after so many years have failed to embrace the need to deliver justice to successful parties through online enforcement initiatives. Instead of moving forward on the transfer of judgments from the county court to the High Court I understand that PAPER FORM FILLING is still being used to thwart efficient enforcement remedies. I look forward to the day when a successful party can go online, choose the enforcement of their choice, including selecting an HCEO, paying a fee and seeing their enforcement procedure kick off. It's not rocket science is it? All the clever ideas you mention above are tremendous but for many businesses and court users all they want is the best chance possible to enforce payment of what the court says they are owed.
I wish you continued success but just remember enforcement is as vital today as it was 20 years ago when Lord Irvine started to look at this issue.
Comment by Kevin Gallagher posted on
Thank you for your comment. I’m pleased to confirm that work has recently been undertaken to validate the cost and benefits involved in reforming civil enforcement processes. Investment would enable delivery of a continuous digital service following non payment or recovery of a judgement, with the choices available to users more clearly explained. The matter is now being considered with a decision expected in the next two to three months.