November 2011 Asser Institute Presentation for EU supported training course for justice in candidate member countries

1. Web service Central Database
Claimant PC Print/mail system
XML
transfer
Use of IT in judicial proceedings
(Online defences
Court Helpdesk
from 9.12.02)
Admit/offer Dr. Dory Reiling Mag. Iur.
Defend or
or pay further help Printed claims
Defendant responds Served by post

2. 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

3. Topics
• What IT?
• Coffee break
• IT: What for?
• What has IT changed?

4. Europe: level of digital access
Source: CEPEJ 2008

5. 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

6. 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

7. Europe: levels of direct IT support

8. 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

9. 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

10. 3. Oral e-hearings
• Some E-files • Some video
• Almost no file in recording
hearing • More audio recording
• Some projecting • Videoconferencing
documents
– W+P+E 10
• Some (?) documents
accessible in – W+P 3, W 1, P 1
computer • Some courts have a/v
equipment

11. 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

12. Management systems
in 100% of courts
• Case registration systems 26/46
• Financial management 26
• Case and court management 20

13. Advantages and Disadvantages
• COE CCJE
• Advantages 27:
– efficiency, speed, cost,
– access to legal information,
– service to citizens,
• Disadvantages 8
– cost,
– data security,

14. Coffee break

15. Why Difficult?
• IT projects are always difficult
• Government organization - complexity
• Culture
• Lack of direction in judicial governance
• Lack of information policy and know-how

16. IT: What for?
• Most common complaints
• Delay
• (Lack of) Access
• Integrity/Corruption
• Internal processes, user interaction and
integrity

17. The law - standards
• European Convention on Human Rights
Article 6
Right to a fair trial
everyone is entitled to a fair and public
hearing within a reasonable time by an
independent and impartial tribunal
established by law.

18. 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

19. Cases are different
- Outcome unpredictable? +
-
1 title 4 judgment
Party
relation
2 notarial 3 settlement
+

20. Distribution across case load
- Outcome unpredictable? +
-
35 % 8%
1 title 4 judgment
Party
relation 2 notarial 3 settlement
30 % 9%
+
Source: NL Judicial Council statistics

21. Interventions
- Outcome unpredictable? +
-
35 % 8%
1 title 4 judgment
Party
relation 2 notarial 3 settlement
30 % 9%
+
Source: NL Judicial Council statistics

22. Technology for each group
- Outcome unpredictable? +
- Casefiling Case filing
Automated case Electronic files
processing Knowledge management
1 title 4 judgment
Party
relation 2 notarial 3 settlement
Case filing Case filing
Automated case Web guidance
processing Negotiation software
+ Web guidance

23. Issue # 1: Case Delay/Timeliness
• Procedural complexity
• Culture
• Early intervention
• Simplification
• Internal processes
• Communication with the user (digital
access)

24. 200
400
600
800
1000
1200
0
Al
b an
Bo
sn ia
i a+ Be
H l ar
er us
ze
go
vi
na
Bu
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a
Cr
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M ia
ac
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on
ia
M
ol
N do
et va
he
rl
an
R ds
us R
Civil justice
si om
a n an
Fe ia
d er
at
io
n
Se
r bi
a
Tu
rk
ey
U
disposition time in days, 2004, 2008
kr
ai
ne

25. Issue # 2: Access to justice
• Access to information
• Justiciable problems
• Problem specific information needs:
– Information
– Advice
– Assistance

26. Civil justice:
party configurations and information needs
- Outcome unpredictable? +
-
Repeat players
Diverse
vs. one-shotters
1 title 4 judgment
Party
relation 2 notarial 3 settlement
One-shotters vs.
one-shotters Diverse
+

27. 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

28. Issue # 3: Integrity/Corruption
• Weak institutions
• Low participation
• Payments, patronage
• Opportunities for strengthening processes
• Transparency
• Risk: increasing insecurity

29. Transparency International’s
Corruption Perception Index 2008

30. 10
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Al
b an
Bo ia
sn
i a+ Be
H l ar
er us
ze
go
vi
na
Bu
l ga
ri
a
Cr
o at
M ia
ac
ed
on
ia
M
ol
N do
va
et
he
rl
an
R ds
us R
si om
a n an
Fe ia
d er
at
io
n
Se
r bi
a
Tu
r ke
y
U
kr
ai
ne
Corruption Perception Scores, 2001, 2008

31. 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

32. Resources
• Dory Reiling
• dory@doryreiling.com
• www.doryreiling.com
• www.coe.int/cepej
• www.coe.int/ccje
• +31-6-20364309