The official series
UK Ministry of Justice court data reports 80,098 open Crown Court cases on 31 December 2025, compared with 74,016 one year earlier. The page defines open caseload as cases where one or more offences remains incomplete and treats the measure as a snapshot on the final day of the period.
Receipts and disposals
The same source reports 120,629 receipts and 114,406 disposals during 2025. When receipts exceed disposals, the open caseload tends to grow, although validation timing and case mix also matter. A raw case count does not show the hearing time or complexity represented by each case.
What AI might affect
Document organisation, transcription, listing support and draft preparation can reduce work around a case. They do not create courtroom capacity or eliminate the need for parties, witnesses and hearings. The judiciary's own AI guidance also places confidentiality, hallucination, bias and personal responsibility at the centre of professional use.
How to monitor change
Track the same official series, receipts, disposals, age distribution, effective trials and adjournments. A pilot should demonstrate whether it changes one of those mechanisms rather than merely reporting user adoption.
Compare the bottleneck model and the document-first workflow.