Web access to Small Claims Court

Consumers looking to pursue cases in the Small Claims Court will soon be able to process their entire claim over the internet when the system is streamlined before the end of the year.

Currently people hoping to pursue a case must complete paperwork outlining their claim and submit this to a District Court office. The registrar then attempts to mediate between the parties and reach an out-of-court settlement.

However, under the new streamlined system, the Courts Service is preparing to launch a one-stop website which will enable consumers to lodge their complaints online and simply wait for the registrar to pursue the matter for a charge of €9.

As with the current paperwork-based system, no solicitors will be involved and the maximum sum that can be claimed will be €2,000.

A Courts Service spokesman said the new website would include a tracking system that would allow those taking a case to track what stage their claim was at by simply inputting a reference number into the website.

Last year 2,705 cases were received by the Small Claims Court, of which 1,468 were settled by the registrar.

Of the 560 cases that went to court, some 336 decrees were granted, 76 were dismissed and 148 were struck out or withdrawn.

Cases were taken last year in relation to disputes over, amongst other matters, holidays, professional services, dry cleaners, cars, shoes, furniture, computers and other electrical goods,

The Chief Justice and chairman of the board of the Courts Service, Mr Justice John Murray, said he believed information technology was just one area in which the Courts Service had made progress, the extent of which could not have been envisaged six years ago, when the service was established.

He said the creation of a dedicated list in the High Court in 2004 dealing with commercial matters represented "first-rank court solutions to the problems of a first world economy".

A unit established within the Circuit and District Courts directorate to electronically process Garda summonses had processed and dispatched 20,000 summonses per month last year in a pilot exercise.

This would increase dramatically in the current year.

Arrangements had been completed for the hearing of judicial review applications outside Dublin for the first time. This would shorten waiting times.

Backlogs in courts around the country were also being cleared.