University of Exeter academic appointed to expert committee advising the Lord Chancellor and judiciary
A University of Exeter expert has been appointed to a prestigious national body tasked with making the civil justice system more accessible and efficient.
Professor Sue Prince, from the University of Exeter’s Law School, has been made a lay member of the Civil Justice Council.
The council is responsible for keeping the civil justice system under review, conducting research and advising the Government, the judiciary and others on reform.
Work by Professor Prince has helped to improve access to justice in civil and online courts. She has highlighted the impact of digital exclusion on justice and analysed the role of mediation and alternative dispute resolution for bodies such as the Civil Justice Council and the Ministry of Justice. She was previously a member of the Civil Justice Council’s Advisory Group on Online Dispute Resolution, work which impacted on the development of the online courts in England and Wales.
Professor Prince is an accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator and has researched mandatory mediation in Canada, Florida, and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
She has held several senior roles at the University of Exeter, including Associate Academic Dean for Students, Associate Dean Education for the Faculty of Social Sciences and Interim Head of the University of Exeter Law School and sits on the university Council.
Professor Prince established the University of Exeter’s first community law clinic – where the public could get free legal advice. This was based at the Exeter Combined Court and won the LawWorks Attorney General Award for Best New Student Pro Bono Activity. Professor Prince has also been honoured by the Attorney General for a debt literacy project run with Exeter schools.
The CJC was established under the Civil Procedure Act 1997 as an advisory non-departmental public body. Members of the Council have collective responsibility for the operation of this body. Professor Prince is one of six new appointments to the Council.
The Council’s statutory duty is to make recommendations to the Lord Chancellor, the judiciary and the Civil Procedure Rule Committee on the development of the civil justice system.
