Paperless inquests are expected in full from this spring after the first ever digital-only hearing took place.

Kent and Medway Coroners Court is now rolling out the system for use on all jury inquests from March 1 this year and all inquests from April 1.

The system allows participation in person and remotely and allows people to stay safely apart during the pandemic.

The system was used for the first time to support a complex jury inquest held in Maidstone last November and December.

It was the first time that a jury inquest in the UK has been conducted entirely digitally.

The court is using a service called CaseLines by the multinational media corporation Thomson Reuters.

This is a court exhibit and evidence sharing platform.

Inquests in this county are held in Maidstone, at the Archbishop's Palace, County Hall and the Shepway Centre in Oxford Road.

But Kent and Medway Coroners Court began its digital transformation last April with the implementation of the Civica Casework Case Management System.

This implemented CaseLines, which integrates with Civica.

It meant that the court could fully digitise the production, sharing, review and presentation of court documents and evidence.

All relevant parties, including the presiding coroner, relevant legal representatives and jury members, could engage and follow proceedings using individual iPads and the large screens placed in court.

Time could also be saved that is usually spent printing, photocopying and manually sorting and redacting bundles. The court estimates that during the hearing in November and December it saved 46 hours of staff time.

Angie Sanders, service development officer at KMCC, said: “It would not have been possible to complete this inquest in such a short time frame had we not adopted CaseLines. The capability of the platform proved invaluable, not only in terms of preparing for the case, but also in making it straightforward for all parties to follow proceedings.

"There was no need to use paper at any stage of the hearing – crucial given the strict coronavirus regulations in place.”

Without this system the court would have had to equip each juror with up to seven lever arch files of case notes and evidence. Even if there had been enough space to accommodate this in the court room, it would have been very difficult for jury members to keep up with proceedings.

The technology also came into its own at one stage of the inquest, where travel restrictions meant a QC could not return to the UK to attend the hearing in person.

Using CaseLines, the QC was able to attend the rest of the hearing via video link. Without it, the case would have been adjourned.

Andrea Kilby, business development director, CaseLines added: “While only the coroner, jury and legal representatives were in the court room itself, the family and any attending media were able to follow all proceedings from adjacent rooms in the courthouse. In addition, witnesses were able to join via videoconference, and to view and share evidence using the platform.

We firmly believe that the future of courts is to operate a mixture of virtual and in-person hearings in this way.”

CaseLines is now being used by two coroners courts in the UK, with Surrey Coroners Court also practising it.

For more information on how we can report on inquests, click here.