Remote hearings

Family Court litigants’ experience of remote / online proceedings during Covid-19 restrictions

The Transparency Project is an educational charity (Charity no. 1161471) that aims to make family courts clearer. You can read about us here: www.transparencyproject.org.uk.

We aim to compile information about the experiences of people attending remote or online family court hearings in England or Wales, and would be grateful if you would take the time to complete this survey.

There is a great deal of ongoing discussion about how effective and appropriate a remote court hearing can be. The purpose of this survey is to contribute information about families’ experiences of using the courts online and how this may differ from traditional courtroom proceedings.

Please do not provide your name or the names of any party involved in the case you attended, or any identifying information. Please do not provide any details of what was discussed in court about the evidence in your case. Please only complete this survey if your hearing was in England & Wales.

This is a survey of the experiences of parties, not of professionals, but it is okay to ask someone to help you complete the survey, or to ask them to complete it on your behalf.

If you would like any more information about this survey, email us at info@transparencyeproject.org.uk

Thank you for completing this survey. Your response is anonymous and you will not be contacted by The Transparency Project. Please keep an eye out for our discussions of the results in the near future.

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* 1. Are you a party or someone supporting a party?

A party

Supporting a party

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* 2. If you are supporting a party who are you?

A lawyer

A lay advocate

A mckenzie friend

A partner or family member

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* 3. Is the party a parent of the children the case is about, a separated partner or spouse, another family member or a friend

a parent

another family member

a friend

a separated partner or spouse

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* 4. What was the date of your hearing

Date / Time

Date

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* 5. What was the name of the judge (say don't know if you are not sure)

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* 6. What was the name of the court

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* 7. What was this case about

- About a child in care or where there is a care application

- An adoption case

- An application for protection from domestic abuse

- About financial matters

- Between family members about a child's living arrangements

Other (please specify)

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* 8. What sort of hearing was this?

a case management hearing (a hearing to make a plan for the case to be decided at a later date)

a contested interim hearing (a hearing to decide something that can't wait until the final hearing, such as an emergency move of a child from one parent to another or into foster care)

to make a final order

I'm not sure

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* 9. Roughly how long did the hearing last?

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* 10. What platform was used to hold the hearing?

Skype

Skype for Business/Microsoft Teams

Zoom

GoToMeeting

Lifesize

Telephone

Other (please specify)

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* 11. How did you join the hearing?

on a phone via a browser or app (link)

on a phone by voice call (number)

on a desktop computer or laptop

on a tablet (e.g. iPad)

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* 12. How easy was it to connect to the hearing?

Very easy

Easy

Neither easy nor difficult

Difficult

Very difficult

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* 13. How many devices did you use the hearing? (please tick all that apply)

phone

desktop computer

laptop

tablet (e.g. iPad)

Other (please specify)

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* 14. Were you able to see the court papers?

on my phone

on a desktop computer, laptop or tablet

paper copy

didn't have a copy

someone shared their screen with me so I could see

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* 15. Did you know who was who at the hearing and could you see them all?

- Yes

- No

If your answer is No, please give details

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* 16. Could you be seen by everyone at the hearing?

- Yes

- No

- Don’t know

If your answer is No, please give details.

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* 17. If there were any witnesses, how many and what type of witnesses were they? (e.g. expert witnesses)

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* 18. Did you (or the person you supported) give evidence?

Yes

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* 19. What was outcome of the hearing ?

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* 20. Do you agree with the outcome?

Yes

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* 21. What worked well about this being a remote hearing?

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* 22. What didn’t work well about this being a remote hearing?

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* 23. If you (or the person you supported) had a lawyer, how well did they help you prepare for and participate in the hearing? On a scale of 0 - 5 where 5 = very well and 0 = not at all.

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* 24. If you had a Mckenzie friend or supporter, how well did they help you prepare for and participate in the hearing? On a scale of 0-5 where 5 = very well and 0 = Not at all

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* 25. Where were you during the hearing?

- At home

- At an office

Other (please specify)

Remote hearings

Family Court litigants’ experience of remote / online proceedings during Covid-19 restrictions

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* 1. Are you a party or someone supporting a party?

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* 2. If you are supporting a party who are you?

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* 3. Is the party a parent of the children the case is about, a separated partner or spouse, another family member or a friend

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* 4. What was the date of your hearing

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* 5. What was the name of the judge (say don't know if you are not sure)

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* 6. What was the name of the court

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* 7. What was this case about

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* 8. What sort of hearing was this?

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* 9. Roughly how long did the hearing last?

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* 10. What platform was used to hold the hearing?

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* 11. How did you join the hearing?

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* 12. How easy was it to connect to the hearing?

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* 13. How many devices did you use the hearing? (please tick all that apply)

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* 14. Were you able to see the court papers?

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* 15. Did you know who was who at the hearing and could you see them all?

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* 16. Could you be seen by everyone at the hearing?

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* 17. If there were any witnesses, how many and what type of witnesses were they? (e.g. expert witnesses)

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* 18. Did you (or the person you supported) give evidence?

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* 19. What was outcome of the hearing ?

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* 20. Do you agree with the outcome?

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* 21. What worked well about this being a remote hearing?

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* 22. What didn’t work well about this being a remote hearing?

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* 23. If you (or the person you supported) had a lawyer, how well did they help you prepare for and participate in the hearing? On a scale of 0 - 5 where 5 = very well and 0 = not at all.

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* 24. If you had a Mckenzie friend or supporter, how well did they help you prepare for and participate in the hearing? On a scale of 0-5 where 5 = very well and 0 = Not at all

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* 25. Where were you during the hearing?

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* 26. If anyone else was present in the room with you, who were they and what was their role.

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* 27. Please tell us about any difficulties getting a quiet, private space to take part in the hearing.

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* 28. Free text box for any other comments you may have about the hearing.