HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) will lead a study which the UK’s Ministry of Justice believes could pave the way for victims to benefit from greater transparency and improved access to justice.

Costly court transcript fees have meant that victims have had to fork out hundreds – and in some cases thousands – of pounds to access exactly what was said in court to help provide answers and closure.

The UK government believes the study’s findings have the potential to significantly reduce these fees and mark another step towards greater transparency.

Sarah Sackman KC, the UK’s minister for courts and legal services, said: “Victims show immense courage in coming to court, delivering their testimonies and looking their perpetrators in the eye. That’s why it is only right they process what happened in their case in their own time and on their own terms.

“By deploying AI in the courtroom, we can boost transparency and access to justice, building a modernised system that victims can rely on.”

Currently, transcripts of Crown Court proceedings are produced by contracted providers. The new study will explore how the Ministry of Justice’s in-house AI, Justice Transcribe, could meet required accuracy standards while reducing transcription time and costs.

The findings will inform nationwide plans to upgrade, modernise and open up the court system and increase access to justice in the digital age.

The government previously announced that victims whose cases are going through the Crown Court will have access to free transcripts of judges’ sentencing remarks, upon request, from spring 2027.

Charlotte Schreurs, survivor and founder of the Open Justice For All campaign said: “Having long called for transcripts to be made easily and freely accessible for victims through my Open Justice For All campaign – I welcome AI being deployed in court rooms to make this happen.

“Court transcripts are imperative for victims in the healing process – to understand what was said and to be able to move on, but it also brings accountability and transparency of the courts.”