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_FLBA

Video Conferencing / Remote Hearings

Guide for Advocates

Instructions for use of CVP

Version 1 – 16 June 2020

These instructions may, from time to time, be updated and readers should consult the

FLBA website where any updated instructions will be published

CONTENTS

Paras. 1-2: Introduction

Paras. 3 – 25: How to Access CVP

Paras. 26 - 27: Pricing

Paras. 28-30: Setting up a hearing

Paras. 31-49: In hearing functions - Guest

Paras.50-54: In hearing functions - Host

Paras. 55: Recording

Para. 56: Interpreter and Intermediary Audio Channels

Para. 57: Planned / Requested Upgrades

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Introduction

1. CVP is an online video conferencing platform provided by HMCTS. It is a

forerunner to a more comprehensive video hearing platform that was in

developmentbyHMCTSbeforetheCovid-19pandemic.HMCTSreleasedCVPon

anurgentbasistoprovideapreferredvideohearingplatformwhileaccessto

physicalcourtsroomswasprohibited/restricted.It isanalternativetoSkype

forBusiness[SFB],MicrosoftTeams,ZoomandLifesize.CVPis,alongsideSkype

forBusiness,preferredforuse,althoughunderthetermsoftheRemoteFamily

CourtProtocolitisthecasemanagementjudgewhodecideswhatplatformisto

beused.CVPisaccessibletoJudgesfromtheirHMCTSlaptops.Itissecureand

GDPRcompliant.

2. CVPcanbeusedonWindowsandMaccomputersandonApple,Windowsand

Android tablets and smart mobile phones. HOWEVER, there are significant

restrictionsonthefunctionsavailableforusewithinCVPwhenaccessedona

smart phone, iPad or with a laptop that is not using a recommended web

browser.Thedevicethatyouuseandthesoftwarethatyouchoosewilldetermine

thefunctionsavailabletoyouonceyouhavejoinedthehearing.

HowtoAccessCVP

3. YouwillreceiveanemailfromthecourtthatcontainsaninvitationtojoinaCVP

hearingasa “Guest”.Theemailwill includea link,ameetingcode (“HMCTS”

followedbyaseriesofnumbers)andpossiblyaPINnumber.

4. Whenyoureceivetheemailinvitation,youcanonmostdevicesaddthehearing

to your calendar and the email link to the hearingwill be copied into your

calendar.Thereareadvantagestoaddingtheinvitationtoyourcalendar,asthe

linkwillbeeasilyaccessiblewithinthecalendar,andyouwillnotneedtosearch

youremailinboxtofindalinkthatmighthavebeensentsomedayspreviously.

5. Onceenteredintoyourcalendar,theweblinkforthehearingwillbestored.The

linkshouldappearsomethinglikethis:

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6. CVPcanbeaccessedbymobilephone,tabletandlaptop/Macbook.Foreffective

participationataremoteorhybridhearing,werecommendthatCVPisjoined

usingalaptop/Macbook.Wetakethisviewasitisnecessary,whenactingasan

advocateinatrial,tousethe‘PRESENTER’featuresofCVP.Thereisaninferior

‘PDF’ sharing feature available, see below, but that is not in our view an

adequatesubstituteandFLBAmembersshouldnotdenythemselvesfullaccess

tothefunctionsofCVPbytheirchoiceofdeviceorchoiceofsoftware.

UsingaMobilePhone

7. Ifyouareusingyourmobilephone,thereare2waystojoinaCVPhearing:

(a) DownloadthePexipInfinityConnectappandinstallthatonyourtelephone.

Then:

• CopyandpastetheURLfortheCVPhearingintothePexipapp.

• Follow the instructions in the Pexip app to join the hearing (see

below).

• If you have copied the hearing weblink into your calendar, and

grantedPexipaccesstoyourcalendarinitssettings,Pexipislikelyto

havethemeetingalreadyavailablewhenyouopentheapp/clickthe

reminder.

(b) Asanalternative tousingPexip, you can copyandpaste theURL for the

hearingintothewebbrowseronyourphone.

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Ifyouareusingamobilephone,werecommendthatyoudownloadthePexipapp

as yourmobile phone browser is not designed for usewith video conferencing

platformswhereasthePexipappispurposebuiltforvideocommunication.

UsinganiPad

8. IfusinganiPad,youjoinaCVPhearinginthesamewayasifyouareusinga

mobiletelephone:

(a) UsingthePexipapp;

(b) BypastingtheURLintoyourwebbrowser,or

(c) Byaccessviayourcalendar.

9. HMCTSinstructionsforusingthePexipapparefoundwithintheHMCTSguide

toCVPat:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-join-a-cloud-video-

platform-cvp-hearing/how-to-join-cloud-video-platform-cvp-for-a-video-

hearing

10. ThelatestuserguideforthePexipappisfoundat:

https://docs.pexip.com/files/v22/Infinity_Connect_Mobile_Userguide_v1.5.a.p

df

11. WhenusingthePexipapp,youhavecontrolofyourownsoundandcamerabut

youdonothaveaccesstothe‘PRESENTER’functions(seeparagraph37below).

Youdohaveaccesstothe‘PDF’functionbut,forthereasonsdescribedbelow,

weareof the view that this tool isnot adequate for sharingdocuments at a

remotehearing.

AccessingCVPviaGoogleChromeorFireFoxonaniPad

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12. WehavetestedCVPusinganiPadProontheSafariapp,GoogleChromeappand

theFirefoxapp.

13. OnChromeandFirefoxitwaspossibletoconnectintotheCVPhearingbut,once

connected, the only function available is the ‘chat’ function. Both sound and

visiondonotwork.

14. Soundandvisiondoworkwhen joiningthroughSafari.However, ‘Presenter”

functionsarenotavailablethrougheitherthePexipApporSafari.Thislimits

theeffectivenessofadvocacyatremotehearingsconductedviaanIpad.Wehave

expressedourconcernsaboutthislimitationtoHMCTSandrequestedthatCVP

beupgradedtoprovidefullfunctionalitytoIpadusersbywhatevermeansthe

developersofCVPcanachieve.

UsingaMicrosoftSurfaceTablet

15. Wehave tested CVPusing a Surface Pro tablet.WhenCVP is accessed using

GoogleChromeonaSurfacetablet,thetablethasfullfunctionalityequivalentto

joiningCVPonalaptop/Macbook.

UsingaLaptoporMacbook

16. CVPwilloperateonalaptop/Macbookusingthefollowingwebbrowsers:

(i) GoogleChrome

(ii) Firefox

(iii) Safari

(iv) InternetExplorer

(v) Opera

(vi) Edge

17. However,youMUSTaccessCVPusingChromeorFirefoxtohaveaccesstothein-

meeting features that youwill need as an advocate appearing in a trial. The

‘Presenter’ options are available through Firefox but Chrome has better

usability.IfyouaccessCVPfromalaptopusinganybrowserotherthanGoogle

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ChromeorFirefox,youwillnotbeabletousethe‘Presenting’featurethatallows

youtosharespecificitemsfromthescreenonyourlaptop–suchaspagesinthe

electronicbundleorpagesoncloudbasedsystemssuchasCaselines.Youmay

beabletouploadindividualsmallPDFs,orimages,butyouwillfindthisaslow,

cumbersomeandaninadequateprocessifappearinginatrial.

18. Important: Before joining a CVP hearing, ensure that you have visited the

settings, security or preferencesmenus on your device and have authorized

GoggleChromeand/orFirefoxtoaccessyourcameraandmicrophone.

19. Important.Whenusingthe‘Presenter’featureforthefirsttime,youwillneed

to grant CVP ‘screen recording’ permission in the settings, security or

preferencesmenusonyourdevice.Thispermissioncannotbegrantedduring

yourfirstCVPhearing.ThesoftwarewillaskyoutograntChrome/Firefoxthese

permissions the first time you attempt to share your screen BUT the

permissions will have no effect until you have left the hearing, closed and

restarted Chrome/Firefox and then rejoined the hearing. Therefore, we

recommend that you grant Google Chrome and Firefox ‘screen recording’

permissionsbeforeyoujoinyourfirstCVPhearing.Youshouldcheckyouhave

donethissuccessfully,orgrantthesepermissionsforthefirsttime,ataCVPuser

testrequestedbeforethestartofaCVPhearing(seeparagraph54below).

20. Also,closedownallotherbrowsers–forexample:ifyouareonanAppledevice

close down Safari completely by selecting ‘quit safari’ in the Safarimenu or

press‘cmdandQ’togetherwhenSafariistheopenwindowinuseonthescreen.

DotheequivalentifoperatingawindowsdevicerunningInternetExploreror

otherwebbrowser.

21. Additionally, ifyouhavebeenusingZoom,Skypeoranothervideoplatform,

quitthoseprogramssothereisnocompetitionfortheuseofthemicorcamera.

22. IfyouhaveaddedtheCVPURLlinktoyourcalendarandChromeorFirefoxis

yourdefaultwebbrowser(theonethatyoualwaysuseandyourdeviceuses

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automatically), you shouldbe able to click the link in the calendar reminder

whenitappearsandyouwillbetakentoCVP.

23. IfChromeorFirefoxisnotyourdefaultwebbrowser,copyandpastetheCVP

URLhearinglinkintothebrowserwindowonceyouhaveopenedChromeor

Firefox.

24. Press‘ENTER’.

• Awindowshouldopenandinviteyoutoaddyourname.Typeyourname

asyouwishittoappeartootherparticipants:

• Press‘CONNECT’andyouwillbeaskedtoagreewhichcameraandmic

to be used. The default setting is the inbuiltmic and camera in your

device. Alternatively, you can click the downward arrow against each

selectionboxtochoosethemicandcamerayouwishtouse.

• When you authorize your camera, your face should appear in the

previewscreenintheboxbeforeyou.Simpleclickon‘START’.

• Youwillthenbeaskedtoenterasaguestorasahost.Click‘GUEST’and

pressconnect(toenterasahostyouwillneedtohaveahostpassword

fromHMCTS(thisislikelytoapplyonlytofee-paidjudges).

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25. YouwillthenbeplacedinawaitingroomandtheimageoftheMoJbuildingwill

appearonyourscreen.

Pricing

26. Itcostsnothing,otherthanyourdata/internetservice,tojoinaCVPhearingas

theplatformisprovidedbyHMCTS

27. ItalsocostsnothingtodownloadandinstallPexip,GoogleChromeandFirefox.

Werecommendthatyoudoso.

Setting-upaCVPHearing

28. All CVP hearingswill bemanaged by the Court. It will be necessary for the

partiestosupplytheCourtwiththeemailaddressesforallthosewhowishto

participateinthehearing.

29. AllCVPhearingshaveanadministrator(HMCTSstaff),ahost(theJudge)and

guests(thelawyers,partiesandwitnesses).

30. Theadministratorhastoolsavailablethatarenotavailabletothehostorguests.

Oneofthesetoolsenablesavideotileofoneotherparticipanttobe‘pinned’or

‘spotlighted’.Wehave invitedHMCTS tomake these features available to all

participantstoenableeachtocontroltheappearanceoftheirownscreen.We

havealsoinvitedHMCTStoincludebreakoutroomsandaninterpreterchannel

infutureupdatestoCVP.

In-HearingFunctions

GuestFunctions

31. MostFLBAmemberswill joinaCVPhearingasaguest.Assetoutabove, the

functionsaccessiblearedependentonthedeviceandthewebbrowseryouhave

usedtoaccessthehearing.Thisguideispreparedonthebasisthattheadvice

abovehasbeenfollowedandChromeorFirefoxisusedasyourwebbrowserfor

CVP.

32. Yourcontroliconsappearalongthebottomofthescreen.

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Mic/CameraControlandLeaveMeetingControl

33. Ontheveryfarleftyouwillseeabluearrowpointingleft.Pressthistohidethe

chatroomandparticipantslist.

34. Toturnonormutethemic:

• Clickthemicicon

• Itwillturnbluewhenworking.

• Clickagain

• Alinewillappearacrossiconwhenmicismuted.

35. Toturnthevideocameraonandoff:

• Clickthecameraicon

• Itwillturnbluewhenworking.

• Clickagain

• Alinewillappearacrosstheiconwhenthecameraisturnedoff.

36. The red button in the center of the screen is to be clicked to end your

participationinthehearing.

ScreenSharing/Presenting

37. TotherightoftherediconyouwillseeablueiconcontaininganimageofaTV.

Thisisthepresenterfunctions.Toshareyourscreenoranapplicationrunning

onyourscreen,clickthisicon.

38. Anewwindowwillappearandyouwill,ifusingGoggleChrome,bepresented

with3options:

• Shareyourentirescreen

• Shareanapplicationwindow

• ShareaChrometab

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39. IfyouareanadvocateinacasethatisusingCaselines,youshouldopenCaselines

usingGoogleChromesothatyoucanthenshareyourCaselinesbundlepages

usingthe‘Chrometab’option.IfyouopenCaselinesusinganotherbrowser,you

willhavetoshareyourwholescreen,whichissomethingyouwillnotwantto

doifrunningotherappsandifyourownnotesappearonthesamedevice.

40. If you have an ebundle that youmanage using Adobe Pro DC or other PDF

management software, if youhave that appopenyou can showyourbundle

pages by using the ‘Application Window’ function. Please note, the PDF

applicationneedstobeopenandonyourscreen.Iftheapplicationisopenbut

minimized(sittingalongthebottomofthescreenbutnotinanopenwindow

on-screen)itwillnotappearasanoptionwhenyouopen‘ApplicationWindow’.

41. Onceyouhaveselectedyourpreferredwaytosharebundlepageson-screen,all

thoseparticipatingwillseeyourpage,soensurethatpagesdonotshowyour

ownnotesorhighlighting.

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42. IfusingCaselineswithCVP,werecommendthatyoufamiliarizeyourselfwith

the Caselines guide for remote hearings, available in the Caselines support

pages.

43. When acting as an advocate in a remote hearing that requires you to show

documentsonscreentothejudgeorwitness,werecommendthatyouincrease

thesizeofyourcursor:

OnaMacbook–

• Clickontheappleicononthetopleftofyourscreen.

• Clickon‘systempreferences’

• Clickon‘accessibility’

• Clickon‘display’(inthemenuontheleftofthewindowthatappears)

• Clickon‘Cursor’(thatappearsinthemiddleofthe3horizontaloptions)

• Clickonthedownwardpointingarrowandmoveittowardstherighton

thehorizontalscaletoincreaseitssize.

OnaWindowsdevice–

• OpenSettingsappbyclickingtheSettingsiconontheStartmenu.

• ClickEaseofAccess

• ClickCursorandPointer

• UnderChangepointersize,movetheslidertotherighttoincreaseandto

thelefttoreducethepointersize

44. When your screen is shared, navigate through your bundle as you normally

wouldandtheparticipantsinthehearingwillseeontheirscreenswhatappears

onyourscreen.

45. Tostop sharing simply click ‘STOPSHARE’ thatappears inablue tabon the

controlbaralongthebottomofthescreen.

46. Firefox does have access to the ‘Presenter’ functions but they are displayed

differently and not so effectively. Therefore, we recommend using Google

ChromewhenjoiningaCVPhearing.

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SharingPDF

47. CVPhasanadditionalfunctioninwhichyoucanshareaspecificPDForimage

file from your device storage. This is an inferior method of demonstrating

documents andwe recommend that it is notused.However, if youhavenot

installed Google Chrome or Firefox, or are using an iPad, itwill be the only

functionavailabletoyoutoshareadocument:

• ClickonthebluePDFicon

• Click‘ADDFILES’

• Yourdevicestoragewillopen.Doubleclickonthefileyouwishtoshare.

• Thefilewillopenandappearinaverysmallwindowonyourscreen;so

smallthatyouwillbeunabletoreadit.

• Theotherparticipantswhoneedtoreadtheshareddocumentcanclick

ontheimageandselect‘openinnewwindow’.Theshareddocumentwill

thenappearinanewwindowthatcanbeenlargedtoalargerview.

• Tostopsharingsimplyclick‘STOPSHARE’thatappearsinabluetabon

thecontrolbaralongthebottomofthescreen.

48. IfsharingaPDFusingthisfunction,youcannotgostraighttoapagewiththe

PDFbutmustscrollthrougheachpageusingthearrowsoneachsideofthePDF

share window. Another reasonwhywe recommend that all FLBAmembers

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accessCVPusingawebbrowser thatgrants fullaccess to theCVPpresenter

functions.

Volume,ChangeCamera/MicSettings,CallStatisticsandFullScreen

49. Noinstructionisrequiredfortheseicons.Simplyclickandinformationappears.

Theicononthefarrightchangesthescreensize.Pressthistoenter‘fullscreen’

mode.Werecommendthatyoudonotuse ‘fullscreen’modeastherewillbe

tasks,otherthanwatchingthevideofeed,thatyouwillbeperformingonyour

laptopwhenactingasanadvocateinaremotehearing.

HostFunctions

50. IfyouareauthorizedasahostoftheCVPhearing,atthetopoftheparticipants

boxyouwillseeaniconof3horizontallines:

• Clickontheicon

• Amenuofhostfunctionsappears

51. Thehostisabletolocktheconferenceormuteallparticipants.Byclickingeach

participantinthelistthatappearsintheparticipantwindow,thehostisableto

muteorexpelindividualparticipants.

52. Youshouldinvitethehosttorequirethehearingadministratortosetthevideo

tileviewthatthepartiesbelieveismostappropriateforthehearing.Priortothe

commencementofahearing, invitetheadministratortodemonstrateeachof

thevariousoptionsfordisplayingthevideotilesandagreewhichistobeused.

UltimatelytheJudgewilldecidebutdonotbeshyinremindingtheJudgethat

youmaywishtoviewtilesthatshe/hedoesnot.

53. Important. In common with other video conferencing platforms, CVP will

automaticallyshowthevideotileemittinganaudiosignal.Therefore,allparties

notrequiredtospeakatthattimeshouldmutetheirmicrophones.Thiswillthen

showthevideotilesofthosespeaking.CVPdoesnotrespondasquicklyasother

platformsandthevideo-tilefeedcannotbechanged/pinned/spotlightedother

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thanbytheAdministrator-soaudiointerruptionsshouldbekepttoaminimum

soastoavoidchangingthevideotiledisplay.

54. WerecommendthatalladvocatesinvitetheCourttolistaCVPtesthearing

either 60 minutes before the hearing in the case is due to start or,

preferably, on an earlier date. As practitioners become familiar with the

functionsofCVP,theneedforthesetesthearingswillreduce.However,asCVP

isnotaplatformavailabletoadvocatesunlessprovidedbyHMCTS,thereisno

abilityforadvocatestopracticeusingitsfunctions;practicethatisinourview

essentialforaremote/hybridhearingtooperatesmoothly.

Recording

55. Thereisanin-platformrecordingfunctionindevelopmentandbeingtestedin

pilotcenters.CVPhearingscanalsoberecordedbytheJudgesittingincourtand

thesoundfromaCVPhearingbeingrecordedonthein-courtDARTssystemor

byrunningaBTmeet-metelephonehearinginparalleltotheCVPhearing.

InterpreterandIntermediaryChannel

56. ThereiscurrentlynointerpreterorintermediarychannelavailableonCVP

Planned/RequestedUpgrades

57. Asdescribedinparagraph29above,somefunctionsthatarecurrentlyheldby

theadministratoronly(controlofvideotiles)aretobetransferredtothehost.

Oncethishasoccurred,thehostwillbeableto‘spotlight’or‘pin’avideotileso

that tile is always visible, presumably to all participants. This guide will be

updated when these changes have been made and when the in-platform

recordingfeatureisadded.

58. WehaveinvitedHMCTStoaddbreakoutroomsandinterpreter/intermediary

channelstoCVPasfurthernecessaryupgrades.WehavealsoinvitedHMCTSto

undertakeanurgentreviewofthefunctionalityofCVPwithSafariandiPads,

duetotheclearmajorityofbarristersoperatingincourtusingAppledevices.

59. We record our thanks to HMCTS staff for the assistance they have given to

enableustopreparethisuserguide.Wewillreleaseupdatestothisguideas

upgradestoCVParereleased.

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DarrenHoweQC

MatthewMaynard

CharlotteBaker

June2020.