Research published by Blind Justice CIC has found that administrative failures within the courts are creating significant barriers to justice for litigants in person (LiPs), with routine procedural breakdowns preventing many cases from reaching judicial determination.
The report examined a two-year period between 2024 and 2026 and focused on unrepresented parties conducting cases in the County Court, High Court, and employment tribunals. Its findings were drawn from anonymised composite data across 20 cases.
According to the research, 92% of the cases reviewed involved missing or unprocessed documents. In 85% of cases, mandatory submissions were not placed before decision-makers, while 76% involved emails that were not acknowledged or properly logged.
The report states that court administrative systems remain primarily designed for professional legal users, placing litigants in person at a disadvantage. It found that document loss, inconsistent procedural guidance, and failures in correspondence handling routinely obstruct unrepresented parties from progressing their cases.
Blind Justice said self-representation is most often driven by financial necessity rather than choice. When administrative failures occur, the report noted, litigants in person frequently bear the consequences, often without being aware that an error has taken place until it is too late to remedy.
The research identified five recurring patterns of administrative failure that were found to systematically disadvantage unrepresented litigants. It also concluded that administrative errors which should be neutral in effect were consistently shown to prejudice litigants in person and create tactical advantages for represented opponents.
Blind Justice has written to Andy Slaughter MP and the Ministry of Justice to draw attention to the findings and to correspondence submitted alongside the report.
Speaking about the research, Blind Justice founder Edward Romain said the project was informed by his own experiences as a litigant in person in the County Court and High Court. He said the contrast between legal theory and courtroom practice highlighted the need for reform.
The report sets out a number of recommendations aimed at addressing the issues identified, including automatic timestamped confirmation of filings, consistent procedural guidance in plain language, improved digital access for unrepresented users, and verification processes to ensure mandatory submissions reach decision-makers.
Blind Justice said the recommendations are designed to be implementable within existing legal frameworks and resource constraints.
The organisation is also conducting further research into legal regulation, including the role of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, as well as the use of artificial intelligence within the justice system.
