ADEC Preview Privy to Pitcairn Plight

Privy Council Office

ADEC Preview has recently been selected as one of only two scanning specialists to work with the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to support the new facilities offered in the Court.

Lawyers will now be able to take control of the courtroom visually and digitally using the new system installed recently. The system demonstrated by Registrar Mary MacDonald in July allows lawyers to bring their material into the Court on a laptop, memory stick or CD and simultaneously display everything to all parties - including the judges.

 

The advantages are enormous:

  • Very little paper is needed in the courtroom
  • Time saved by parties searching for material is vastly reduced
  • All parties can easily take away material for study
  • Lawyers can use various electronic tools to highlight their points to all parties
  • Fewer copies of documents are needed.

In due course it is likely that all United Kingdom trial courts will all be similarly upgraded and those lawyers who are able to master the digital age will have a distinct advantage. ADEC Preview specialises in preparing physical material electronically and in providing searchable and indexed output for use in the court room.

During the first case in England to make use of the system - the infamous Pitcairn Island dispute featuring descendants of the Bounty Mutineers, the facilities were deemed to have been a huge success. Even those who had been reticent were finding the information invaluable as the case of Mr S.Christian and Others versus The Crown unfolded.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the court of final appeal for the UK overseas territories and Crown dependencies, and for those Commonwealth countries that have retained the appeal to Her Majesty in Council or, in the case of Republics, to the Judicial Committee.

It is also the court of final appeal for determining "devolution issues" under the United Kingdom devolution statutes of 1998 and it has certain other domestic jurisdiction within the United Kingdom.

The Judicial Committee deals with about 55-65 Commonwealth and devolution appeals a year.

The Judicial Committee sits in the Privy Council Chamber in Downing Street.

Call ADEC Services on 02 8397 6900 or click here to leave an enquiry on our contact us page.