use of it in judicial proceedings
DESCRIPTION
November 2011 Asser Institute Presentation for EU supported training course for justice in candidate member countriesTRANSCRIPT
Claimant PC
Web service Central Database
XML transfer
Print/mail system
Printed claims
Defendant responds
Admit/offeror pay
Defend or further help
Court Helpdesk
Served by post
(Online defencesfrom 9.12.02)
Use of IT in judicial proceedings
Dr. Dory Reiling Mag. Iur.
Dory Reiling
• 1986 - judge in NL
• 1993 – involved in IT for courts
• 1999 – IT program manager NL judiciary
• 2004 - 2007 World Bank judicial reform
• 2007- 2009 Doctorate in IT and Judicial Reform
Topics
• What IT?
• Coffee break
• IT: What for?
• What has IT changed?
Source: CEPEJ 2008
Europe: level of digital access
Communication with parties
• European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) survey:
• In 100% of courts:• Electronic communication 15/46
• Special web sites 14• Electronic web forms 11
E-access to courts
• Council of Europe (COE) survey• E-filing is possible in half the COE
member countries• Legislation in more than half• Requirements vary • Practice is low • Except in Austria
Source: CEPEJ 2008
Europe: levels of direct IT support
Direct support for judges and staff
• in 100% of courts: • text production 42/46 countries• jurisprudence databases 33 • email 33 • internet connections 33• electronic files 18
Source: CEPEJ 2008
E-procedures
• Half communicate electronically with parties and lawyers
• Everyone keeps and archives paper files
• Electronic files are mostly still experimental
• And so are electronic signatures
3. Oral e-hearings
• Some E-files• Almost no file in
hearing• Some projecting
documents• Some (?) documents
accessible in computer
• Some video recording
• More audio recording• Videoconferencing
– W+P+E 10– W+P 3, W 1, P 1
• Some courts have a/v equipment
Practical court work
• COE CCJE• Judges write, more and more on
computers• Court staff write,deliver,register• Tech: models, templates 17• Voice recognition: 7• Monitoring length: y 18 n 12• Data on each judge: 25 statistics mostly
Management systems
in 100% of courts
• Case registration systems 26/46
• Financial management 26
• Case and court management 20
Advantages and Disadvantages
• COE CCJE
• Advantages 27: – efficiency, speed, cost, – access to legal information, – service to citizens,
• Disadvantages 8 – cost, – data security,
Coffee break
Why Difficult?
• IT projects are always difficult
• Government organization - complexity
• Culture
• Lack of direction in judicial governance
• Lack of information policy and know-how
IT: What for?
• Most common complaints
• Delay
• (Lack of) Access
• Integrity/Corruption
• Internal processes, user interaction and integrity
The law - standards
• European Convention on Human Rights
Article 6Right to a fair trialeveryone is entitled to a fair and public
hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law.
IT is about information
• Information technology processes information
• How do courts use information?• Different types of information:
– Party information– Case information– Legal information
• Processing cases• Cases are not the same
Outcome unpredictable?- +-
+
1 title
2 notarial 3 settlement
4 judgment
Party relation
Cases are different
1 title
Outcome unpredictable?- +-
+
2 notarial
35 %
30 % 9 %
8 %
Party relation
Distribution across case load
4 judgment
3 settlement
Source: NL Judicial Council statistics
1 title
Outcome unpredictable?- +-
+
2 notarial
35 %
30 % 9 %
8 %
Party relation
4 judgment
3 settlement
Source: NL Judicial Council statistics
Interventions
1 title
Outcome unpredictable?- +-
+
2 notarialParty
relation
Technology for each group
4 judgment
3 settlementCase fi l ingWeb guidance Negotiation software
Case fi l ingElectronic f i lesKnowledge management
Case fi l ingAutomated case processingWeb guidance
Case fi l ingAutomated case processing
Issue # 1: Case Delay/Timeliness
• Procedural complexity
• Culture
• Early intervention
• Simplification
• Internal processes
• Communication with the user (digital access)
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Albania
Belarus
Bosnia+
Herzegovin
a
Bulgaria
Croat ia
Macedon ia
Moldova
Nether
lands
Romania
Russian
Federa
t ion
Serbia
Turkey
Ukraine
Civil justice disposition time in days, 2004, 2008
Issue # 2: Access to justice
• Access to information
• Justiciable problems
• Problem specific information needs:– Information– Advice– Assistance
1 title
Outcome unpredictable?- +-
+
2 notarialParty
relation
Civil justice: party configurations and information needs
4 judgment
3 settlement
Repeat players vs. one-shotters
One-shotters vs. one-shotters Diverse
Diverse
Access to justice
Disintermediation
• One-sided: Web sites with information
• Interactive digital access– Downloadable forms– E-filing– Case management – Access to court systems– Human support – videoconferencing, chatting
Issue # 3: Integrity/Corruption
• Weak institutions
• Low participation
• Payments, patronage
• Opportunities for strengthening processes
• Transparency
• Risk: increasing insecurity
Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2008
0123456789
10
Albania
Belarus
Bosnia+
Herzegovin
a
Bulgaria
Croat ia
Macedonia
Moldova
Nether
lands
Romania
Russian
Federa
t ion
Serbia
Turkey
Ukrain
e
Corruption Perception Scores, 2001, 2008
Conclusions
• Office automation has increased accuracy• Statistics – time standards • Decisions more transparent with Internet • IT is about information• Cases are different• Access, timeliness and integrity are related
• Using IT can improve access to justice• Human help will always be necessary
Resources
• Dory Reiling
• www.doryreiling.com
• www.coe.int/cepej
• www.coe.int/ccje
• +31-6-20364309