E-licensing – Courts Service

Technology 02/02/2017

The Technology Committee was happy to join forces some time ago with the Litigation Committee and the Society’s investigating accountants to meet with the Courts Service to discuss the latter’s advanced plans to implement electronic filing and serving of licensing applications. Such applications would include, for example, special exemptions applications, as well as applications made at the annual licensing sessions.

Licensing is an area that could benefit hugely from greater computerisation. The project will involve, among other things, electronic filing and service of licensing applications on the Court Service, electronic service of the Garda Síochána, and the creation of an electronic licensing register that can be updated directly by the court clerk. Ideally, the need for gardaí and fire officers to attend court would be greatly reduced. Potential savings for the State are very large.

The committees very much welcome and commend the Courts Service’s vision and drive in pursuing this project. Early and continuing engagement with stakeholders is absolutely critical to the successful design and implementation of services so that they benefit users as well as effecting savings for the State. The Courts Service’s invitation to the Society to provide input to the project was very welcome for this reason.

The committees have asked the Courts Service to take on board its various comments and requests, including that:

  • The Law Society be treated as a key stakeholder and be kept fully involved in the development of the system, and that full consideration be given to representations made on behalf of practitioners to ensure that practitioners share in the benefits of the system and do not get saddled with additional administrative work previously carried out by the State,
  • The system facilitate proper control and tracking of payments within solicitors’ practices in order to enable practitioners to readily comply with their professional obligations,
  • The system provide for re-use of information from previous licensing applications (for example, for special exemptions),
  • The system provide for different levels of user permissions so that support/junior staff can prepare applications for review/sign-off by practitioners and bank account controllers,
  • The system provide for batch uploading of licensing applications information listed in spreadsheets or comma-separated text files (for example, for annual renewals) in order to reduce the need for practitioners to laboriously re-input data already typed out in spreadsheets and Word documents,
  • The system accommodate multiple descriptions of premises to reflect the difference between areas covered by different licences (for example, a public dancing licence may not cover the entire area covered by a publican’s licence),
  • The system should not preclude practitioners applying to amend applications in court, up to and including the day the application is moved,
  • The system recognise the limits as to matters that solicitors can certify, for example, a solicitor or their staff may be able to certify posting of an application (for example, to a fire authority not covered by electronic service), but will not be able to certify delivery by An Post,
  • The system should, in time, accommodate electronic service of as many parties as possible (to include fire authorities, where possible) and should permit differentiation between the notice parties (for example, garda superintendent for the area where the premises is located and garda superintendent for the area where the applicant resides),
  • The system properly reflect different evidentiary requirements for different types of applications (for example, requirement for gardaí to be heard at an application for a restaurant certificate),
  • The need to ensure continued access to the courts for those practitioners without proper broadband access, and indeed, for applicants without solicitors,
  • The need for all eGovernment systems to provide an API to enable practice-management software packages to interface with the online services being provided.

The Courts Service agreed to take the Law Society’s comments on board where possible. However, the Courts Service did put the committees on notice that a lot of systems development work had already been completed and, further, that the Courts Service had to work within its own constraints. Obviously, the Technology Committee is strongly of the view that all necessary resources should be provided for the proper design of eGovernment systems in light of the significant and enduring costs that poorly designed systems can impose on users as compared with the significant savings and efficiencies afforded by well-designed systems.

It was intended that the committees would be involved in testing the e-licensing system before it was rolled out, and indeed members of the committees volunteered to take part in that testing. However, the Courts Service has since advised that all testing is taking place within the Courts Service, with the system already being deployed in certain regional courts offices for internal use.

The committees stand ready to provide any further assistance and feedback to the Courts Service.