Former High Court judge Michael Kirby says it is time for Australia to introduce online civil courts to make access to justice more affordable for Australians.

Key points: Online courts mean that people don't have to physically appear and submissions can be made electronically

Online courts mean that people don't have to physically appear and submissions can be made electronically Last year a fully online civil tribunal opened in Canada

Last year a fully online civil tribunal opened in Canada An online civil court for small claims is planned for the UK

"In Australia, we will see online solution courts for precisely the same reasons the developments are happening in the UK and Canada and elsewhere — because it's just too costly," Justice Kirby told Lateline.

"The present system is a Rolls Royce system and we've got to be looking for something a little bit down market, particularly for smaller claims," he said.

Last year in Canada, a fully online civil court was opened to deal with strata apartment disputes and small claims involving less than $25,000. A similar system is being developed in the UK.

The online Canadian Civil Resolution Tribunal allows all submissions to be made electronically and means people do not have to appear in person in court.

Justice Kirby said Australia's legal system was too expensive and had been out of reach for many people for decades.

"We cannot be satisfied with a system where many people just go away from civil or criminal cases feeling that they have had second-class justice or no justice at all because they couldn't afford to get to first base," Justice Kirby said.

More than 80,000 video link appearances in NSW each year

New South Wales Law Society president Pauline Wright said the Canadian and proposed UK civil courts were a step in the right direction.

"Say you've got debt recovery — you've got some work done by a builder and the builder says you owe them money and you say you don't," she said.

Former justice of the High Court Michael Kirby says Australian courts are presently too costly. ( AAP: Julian Smith )

"You could be able to resolve a lot of these things by an online process. You could still have a lawyer representing you, but a lot of that could be done online."

In Australia, many courts already allow lawyers to file submissions electronically and witnesses and accused persons to appear via video link.

In New South Wales courts nearly 70 per cent of appearances now happen via video link, amounting to more than 80,000 video appearances each year.

"In Australia, at the moment, we've had courts like the Land and Environment Court that started quite early allowing online document filming and some preliminary case management being done online," Ms Wright said.

"This is especially good for people in rural and remote areas of Australia where it's harder to get to your lawyer and you've got long distances to travel."

Legal groups concerned about bail applications

Whether criminal cases should be processed by online courts is contentious.

Most groups that represent lawyers are opposed to criminal cases involving juries going online. The concerns are based on fears juries would be unable to properly scrutinise a person appearing on a screen, as opposed to an accused or a witness who is appearing in court in person.

Some lawyers and legal experts have reservations about the current use of video links for matters such as bail applications before magistrates and judges.

"When it comes to bail hearings, I have concerns about how fair that can be," Ms Wright said.

"When you see someone sitting there in prison greens in what's obviously a jail cell, the chance of them being viewed as a criminal is higher than the person who is sitting there behind the bar table in court saying 'I am a person who is entitled to the presumption of innocence and I'm here to answer these charges. I plead not guilty and I want bail'."

But Justice Kirby does not see a problem with the use of video links for court appearances.

"I don't think that judicial officers — trained, experienced judicial officers — would say 'this person is in prison, therefore I shouldn't give them their rights under the Bail Act'. It just doesn't happen like that," Justice Kirby said.

Prisoners found video links a 'disconnecting experience'

Carolyn Mackay from Sydney University Law School interviewed 30 prisoners in New South Wales jails about their experience appearing in court via video link from jails. She said the prisoners often reported being confused.

Some legal groups have concerns about using video links for bail applications. ( ABC News )

"Many of the people I spoke with found that it was a very disconnecting experience and they said it was like watching a TV or part of a movie that was somehow about them," Dr Mackay said.

"That impacted on their comprehension and their ability to engage with what was going on while watching it on a screen."

However, the use of video links for bail hearings in Australia has saved millions of taxpayer dollars by avoiding the need to transfer prisoners to and from courts on a daily basis.

Justice Kirby said he did not expect to see big jury trials conducted by online courts in Australia, but there was room for some criminal cases to be processed electronically.

"Most criminal cases are not heard by juries," he said.

"[They] are heard by magistrates sitting alone and, in at least some of those cases, one could imagine that the matter could be satisfactorily resolved on a textual, online basis."