The Administrative Court Office has issued updated Guidance regarding the procedures which must be followed during the current COVID-19 shutdown. This may be viewed here. The Court has also issued updated guidance on fees, which may be viewed here.

The Court has also advised that from 18 May 2020, it will be possible to upload all document bundles for court hearings and paper applications using a public and private area within Microsoft SharePoint on the eJudiciary.net “Microsoft Office 365 tenant”. The existing guidance about the format of bundles remains unchanged and upon issue of a claim you will be invited by the court administration to upload your bundles to the repository. Guidance from the Administrative Court Office can be found here.

ALBA is in contact with the Judge in Charge of the Administrative Court, and is represented on the Administrative Court Users Group and the Bar Council, so please do let us know if you encounter any difficulties so that we may raise these.

The conduct of hearings by video-link or telephone (“remote hearings”) can pose particular challenges for advocates. ALBA has prepared a set of recommendations to assist advocates properly to prepare for, and effectively participate in, such hearings in public law cases which do not involve oral evidence. These may be viewed here.