Access to Case Law Bill 2017

A

BILL

TO

Require the Ministry of Justice to publish digitally all case law for the public to access on a website for no fee.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows –

1: Application of this Act

This act refers only to the digital publication of case law details already available by some other means to the public

2: Duty to digitally publish court cases

The Secretary of State must ensure the details of finished cases are digitally available for free for the public to view and search on a publicly-accessible website

3: Information required to be published

Details of case law recorded must include (unless suppressed by means outside the scope of this act):

a) The case’s name

b) The date

c) The charge(s)

d) The participants (plaintiff, defendant, litigant, etc)

e) The judge’s name

f) The court

g) The judgment

4: Requirement to publish within 60 days

All resolved cases must be published according to the provisions in section 2 within 60 days of the case’s end

5: Timetable for implementation

The Secretary of State must ensure the Department adheres to the following timetable:

a) Digital availability of case law must be live within two years of this act’s passing

b) Cases concluded in all courts in England and Wales since 1999 must be digitally available within two years of this act’s passing

c) The Secretary of State must agree a timetable with the Department for the digital availability of all cases prior to 1999 and proceed to review progress on an annual basis, while making cases digitally available in cohorts

6: Enactment Commencement, extent and short title:

a) This act shall take effect on receiving Royal Assent.

b) This act applies to the United Kingdom extends to England and Wales.

c) This act may be referred to as the Access to Case Law Act 2017

This bill was submitted by the Rt. Hon Earl Cirencester on behalf of the 17th Opposition.

This division will end on 28 October 2017.

Division! Clear the bar.