Opaque Justice? The technology and transparency of courts and tribunals

Though interpreted and applied variously, the common law principle of open justice is widely understood as crucial to holding the justice system to account, through different transparency mechanisms. How, then, does this work in practice? How has the introduction of new justice technologies – such as video-enabled proceedings, fully remote court hearings, and online conviction or dispute resolution procedures – affected public observation of the system? How should we balance privacy and rehabilitation related rights with the public’s right to know about legal cases?

These are questions that have preoccupied Judith Townend’s research and resulted in her co-authored monograph, Observing Justice (with Lucy Welsh, BUP, 2023) and the establishment of the Courts and Tribunals Observers’ Network (https://courtobservers.org/). Her research has considered the control and processing of justice system data in different jurisdictions (Australia, Canada and Ireland, as well as England and Wales) and she has long advocated for increased public involvement in the development of policy and guidance on open justice/transparency practices.

In this inaugural lecture, hosted by the University of Dundee Law School and Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, Townend will summarise some of her key findings from her internationally comparative work on justice system data, empirical findings from court observations and research among former criminal defendants, and analysis of court rules and guidance. She will propose an international research and policy agenda for the technology and transparency of justice systems, that could be applied in the context of the Scottish courts. This would prioritise improving the quality, availability and governance of justice system data, pay attention to jurisdictional specificities in practice as well as law, and seek opportunities for public engagement in law and policymaking on open justice and justice system technologies (including AI-based tools).

This event is run with support by the Justice and Power research Priority Theme in the School of Humanities, Social Sciences & Law and the University of Dundee Law School along with the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science.

Event image copyright Bob Jagendorf (Flickr) under Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic copyright. The image has been cropped.

Bio:

Dr Judith Townend is Reader in Digital Society and Justice at the University of Sussex, where she is also co-director of the Sussex Digital Humanities Lab. She is an associate research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and fellow at the civil society organisation Connected by Data. Her socio-legal research is concerned with freedom of expression and public access to information, and she has developed a particular expertise and interest in the practice and policy of open justice. In 2021 she gave evidence to the House of Commons select committee on justice, and in response to a Government consultation that followed, convened an ad hoc working group of court and tribunal observers to inform and collaborate on responses (http://courtobservers.org). Her work has been published in a range of leading journals and media publications. More details: https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p373643-judith-townend

The event will take place in Dalhousie 3F01 LT3

Host or Publisher Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science