IT systems which can predict court outcomes based on real data - and directly advise users whether to go ahead with a legal action - will come a step closer under a data licensing scheme unveiled by HM Courts & Tribunals Service. 

Holders of the non-exclusive 'Third-party Courts and Tribunals Data Licence' can for the first time legally undertake computational analysis of courts listing data. The data is likely to be much sought-after by developers of consumer-facing lawtech products. 

Two types of licences are available, the latest newsletter of the LawtechUK programme has revealed. 

A basic one-year experimental licence allows the use of data to develop a proofs of concept. The analysis or service created must not be released to customers or the public.

To offer commercial services or products developers must obtain a three-year transactional licence. Proposals deemed to be high risk will be offered only an experimental licence. According to HMCTS guidance, high risk activities would include re-using court and tribunal lists to 'produce fully automated legal advice', to 'anticipate legal decisions directly for a client or consumer' or 'otherwise directly inform or influence the decision of a third-party whether to pursue justice or legal action'.  

Use of data to profile individuals such as judges would also be 'high risk', the guidance states. 

Holders of experimental licences may apply for a transactional licence after, but the granting of an experimental licence 'does not guarantee that a transactional licence will be approved later', the guidance stresses. 

HMCTS said restricted data such as the names of parties can be licenced for re-use 'on the basis of the lord chancellor’s inherent powers, arising from his statutory duty to provide an effective and efficient courts and tribunals service, as expressed in section 1 of the Courts Act 2003, section 39 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and fundamental to his responsibility of upholding the rule of law'. 

A licensing regime ensures that the information is handled responsibly and legally, it said. 'Those who use this information must be aware of their responsibilities and not interfere with the administration of justice.'  

Despite the caveats, the licence marks a further step towards the development of consumer-facing lawtech systems to improve access to justice. In licensing reuse, HMCTS is following the National Archives which makes court rulings available for free under the open justice licence, but requires a separate licence for any computational analysis, including analysis in bulk.