The UK Damages Claims Portal: revolutionising civil justice

This article was co-authored by Louise Carroll, Knowledge Lawyer.

As part of the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) plan to extend the Damages Claims Portal (DCP) to provide an end-to-end digital service for court users, from July the MoJ will roll-out additional ‘case progression’ functions to all remaining county courts that have not been part of the 16 early adopter testing programme.

Background

The DCP was launched as part of a broader initiative by the MoJ to digitise the civil justice system. The primary objective is to reduce the burden on courts, minimise delays, and provide a more user-friendly experience for claimants and defendants alike. The portal is designed to handle a wide range of civil claims, including personal injury, breach of contract, and property damage, offering a streamlined and accessible route to justice.

What is changing?

Currently claims issued in the DCP progress up to the standard directions order (unless it drops out of the portal for another reason), when the claim is then referred to a county court hearing centre to progress in the usual way under Part 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules. A small number of claims have progressed beyond this point if they are allocated to an Early Adopter Court located in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, Greater Manchester and Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria.

The further ‘case progression’ features to be released for DCP cases are:

1. Evidence upload
2. Fee payment and sanctions for non-payment
3. General applications
4. Trial readiness confirmation
5. Digital case file view
6. Automatic generation of trial bundles by HMCTS
7. Orders and hearing notices

The new features will apply to those cases that are still proceeding online and where a standard directions order is made on or after the ‘go live’ date allocating them to the small claims or fast track (for intermediate and multi-track claims, the online procedure will continue to end after the submission of direction questionnaires).

The planned roll-out is expected to go live from 18 July 2024 to all county courts in England and Wales, save for Birmingham Justice Centre (which is undergoing a significant amount of reform change and is expected to receive the full suite of civil case progression features in September). A corresponding update to CPR PD 51ZB is also expected. 

Comment

The UK DCP is a pioneering step towards a more efficient, accessible, and user-friendly civil justice system.

Continuous improvements and expansions of the platform are anticipated, potentially incorporating more sophisticated technologies such as artificial intelligence to further streamline the process and enhance user experience. The success of this portal may also inspire similar innovations in other areas of law and in jurisdictions around the world.