Policy background Online Procedure Rule Committee
This proposal will establish a framework for Online Procedure Rules, made by a new Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC), to enable parties to civil, family or tribunal proceedings to use the online procedure. The rules are to apply to proceedings specified in regulations made by the Lord Chancellor. The government expects the Committee to focus on the civil and family jurisdictions in the first instance. In addition, the relevant sections will:
Make provision for the membership of the OPRC and its scope and remit, including the procedure for appointing members.
Enable the Lord Chancellor to alter the composition of the OPRC by regulations, made with the concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals and after consultation of other senior judicial office holders, in order to assist in making of new online rules. The OPRC itself will be independent and will be made up of members of the judiciary and members with expertise in the lay advice sector and IT.
Prescribe the process for making Online Procedure Rules: rules must be signed by at least half of the members of the Committee, including the chair, or a majority of the members of the Committee in any other case (the committee will be made up of six members) before being submitted to the Lord Chancellor or Secretary of State for approval.
Confer power on the Lord Chancellor to require the OPRC to make online rules to achieve a specified purpose and/or within a reasonable period in accordance with the prescribed procedures for making rules.
Permit the Lord Chancellor to make amendments to other legislation which are necessary or desirable in order to facilitate the making of, or are consequential on, Online Procedure Rules.
The Bill was also amended by the Government during its passage through the House of Lords to include give greater flexibility to the Online Procedure Rule Committee when it comes to establishing standards relating to dispute resolution conducted online before court proceedings are initiated. This will enable parties who try to resolve their dispute online prior to commencing legal proceedings, but don’t resolve some or all of their dispute, to then transfer into the legal process seamlessly. IT processes will allow these pre-action claims to "roll over" into the online legal processes where this is necessary, saving parties time in preparing a new claim.