Cost: Free

The Administrative Justice Council (AJC) are delighted to host a webinar on the tribunal’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The webinar will focus on three jurisdictions: Employment; Property; and Special Educational Needs and Disability. Hosted by Robert Thomas, Professor of Public Law at Manchester University and co-chair of the AJC Academic Panel.

Speakers include:-

– Sir Ernest Ryder, Senior President of Tribunals
– Judge Siobhan McGrath, President of the Property Chamber
– Judge Barry Clarke and Judge Shona Simon, Presidents of UK Employment Tribunals,
– Judge Meleri Tudur, Deputy President of the Health Education and Social Care Chamber
– Daniel Flury, Deputy Director, Tribunals, HMCTS

Sir Ernest Ryder, Senior President of Tribunals, will provide an update and overview of how COVID-19 is impacting the operation of tribunals.

Judge Siobhan McGrath will consider the Chamber’s response to the Covid19 pandemic and reflects on opportunities for better access to justice in housing, landlord and tenant and property cases though the creation of a Property Portal and a Property Network to enhance a new approach to dispute resolution in this important area of law.

Judge Barry Clarke and Judge Shona Simon, respectively Presidents of Employment Tribunals in England and Wales and in Scotland, will summarise their collaborative response to the Covid-19 pandemic and their shared ‘road map’ for listing and hearing cases in the remainder of 2020. They will discuss their efforts to increase use of video technology to safeguard access to justice insofar as that is consistent with public safety.

Judge Meleri Tudur will cover the work undertaken by the Judiciary and HMCTS administrative teams to move the SEND/CS and PHL tribunal jurisdictions to fully digital working and fully video hearings from 23 March 2020.

Finally, Daniel Flury will provide a response from HMCTS on how they are operating under the pandemic and how it has impacted the tribunals modernisation programme.