New research project to examine Civil Justice Systems in the Twenty First Century

Andrew Higgins, Professor of Civil Justice Systems, has been awarded a British Academy mid-career fellowship to study the modern civil justice system. Andrew is a member of the Civil Justice Council which is a body responsible for overseeing the modernisation of the civil justice system. His work will both benefit from, and contribute to, the work of the CJC.

This project will look at all the components of the civil justice system, and its objectives.  Andrew will examine the impact of recent developments in AI and technology, especially in the wake of the pandemic when many cases were heard online. He will also look at alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and the role it plays alongside the traditional court system and the relationship between litigation and ADR.

The project will examine the role of all actors in the system; the law makers; the parties and their representatives; the court.  Equally as important will be an assessment of what the general public want, and should expect from a justice system. 

This resulting analysis will provide a comprehensive overview of the system, how its working parts fit together and an analysis of how successful the system is at delivering justice in our modern age.

The research project will result in a book aimed at practitioners, students and policy makers in order to inform current conversations and future developments around the civil justice system.

Andrew’s project will start in January 2024 and last for 10 months.