Northern Ireland's justice system is keeping one of its quieter Covid-era changes for another six months, with wider live link powers for courts and tribunals now extended until 24 March 2027. The order was made by the Department of Justice on 17 September 2026 and sealed by Justice Minister Naomi Long. It has also been laid before the Assembly under the Coronavirus Act 2020, with approval required within 40 days from the day the instrument was made.

On the page, the change sits inside Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 27 to the Coronavirus Act 2020, along with section 57 so far as it relates to those parts. In plain English, it keeps in place the broader use of video and audio live links across courts and statutory tribunals. It also keeps the linked safeguards around public participation where live links are being used, while continuing protections against unauthorised recording or transmission of proceedings. That balance matters, because access to justice only works properly if public access and courtroom protections move together.

This is not a brand new power. An earlier Northern Ireland order, SR 2026 No. 55, had already extended these provisions to 24 September 2026. The latest statutory rule stops that deadline from biting and pushes expiry on by a further six months to 24 March 2027. That tells its own story. Long after the emergency phase of the pandemic passed, some of the legal machinery built in 2020 is still shaping how day-to-day justice is delivered. For ministers, the argument is continuity. For court users, it means the rules do not suddenly change midway through the autumn.

For lawyers, tribunal users and families following cases, this may sound technical but it is not trivial. Live links can affect how people attend proceedings, how hearings are managed and how the public are able to take part when remote technology is being used. In regional justice systems, practical access is never just an administrative detail. Distance, time away from work and the basic business of getting to a hearing all matter, which is why even a short extension like this can carry real weight beyond legal circles.

There is also a devolved politics point running through the background. The legal power comes from Westminster's Coronavirus Act 2020, but the decision to keep these provisions running in Northern Ireland has been taken through the Department of Justice and placed before the Assembly under Stormont procedure. It is the sort of rule that can look dry from the outside, yet it says plenty about how devolved government works in practice. Small procedural orders often decide how public services actually function, and in this case that means how modern courtrooms continue to operate.

For now, the immediate effect is straightforward. Provisions that were otherwise due to expire on 24 September 2026 will now remain in place until 24 March 2027, covering both the wider use of live links and the rules designed to protect proceedings when those links are used. It will not be the loudest justice story of the month, but it is one that matters. Behind the formal wording is a simple fact: Northern Ireland's courts and tribunals are still working with a pandemic-era framework that ministers believe remains necessary for the way justice is run today.