1) Courts create value by adjudicating cases and disputes for citizens at an affordable cost. A typical European court resolves thousands of civil and criminal cases each year for around 100,000 people with a small budget and staff. 2) Courts can further increase their value by delivering more accessible and timely procedures. Effective courts encourage more disputes to settle out of court through mediation and other alternative dispute resolution methods. 3) The document outlines strategies for courts to develop more effective procedures, such as specializing processes, integrating services, simplifying operations, and embracing online adjudication platforms. However, court leaders face challenges to innovation from funding constraints and restrictive procedural rules.

1. Trialogue: Releasing the value of courts
Trend Report 2013
HiiL Innovating Justice
Contact: Maurits.Barendrecht@hiil.org

2. Trend report Future of Courts:
Challenges? What works? Strategies?

3. Evidence base
• Literature review judicial reform, reform procedure
• Innovation projects and experience
– international criminal courts, supreme
courts, courts and their organizations
, NL, Can, Ken, Ye
• Seminars with court leaders
– The Hague, Singapore, San José (Costa Rica), Addis
Ababa and Tunis
• Describing innovations at innovatingjustice.com
• Weekly workshop with our network of experts in
our Justice Innovation Lab in The Hague

4. Courts have a great future!

5. No alternative in sight for ….
Adjudication
ADR:
• Mediation only fair with adjudication
• Stand alone mediation negligible after 30 years (OECD)
• Arbitration < 5% of disputes (OECD)
• Ombudsmen, tribunals, committees, media, government
agencies, majors also provide “binding” adjudication

6. What is the value added by a
typical European court?
Median from CEPEJ Data 2012

7. Serves 100.000 people

8. Solves 2320 contested civil cases
Separation, employment, commercial, neighbour

9. Corrects 2100 criminal acts
2 homicides, 15 robberies, other, 1400 offenses

10. Decides 265 administrative cases
Social security, permits, tax, migration, etc.

11. All this value is created …
By 18 judges
including 5 higher court judges
+ staff
Budget of €2.7 million
= €27 per citizen

12. Effective courts add even more value …
By being available!
If accessible:
• 50% of disputes settle out of court
• Up to 70% of incoming civil/criminal
cases settle

13. Respect
Voice
Fairness
Trust
Knowing what happened
Participation
Recognition
Workable solutions
Financial stability
For 1 judgment effective courts produce
10 settlements +
Peace of mind
Proportionate retribution

14. Trialogue

15. Releasing the value of courts

17. Courts create value …
Affordable
Accessible
Timely
By delivering excellent procedures
Diagnosis and intake
Collecting evidence
Facilitating dialogue/settlement
Growing towards final judgment
Implementation

18. Courts are working on this
58% US court administrators say
"My court is innovative“

19. We found 100s of court innovations
Drug courts, Mental heath courts, Judicial mediation, Facilitadores
judiciales, "Hot tubbing" experts, courtinnovation.org ,Courthouse
ogs, Justice on wheels, Therapeutic jurisprudence, Settlement conference
mediator/judge, Australian Centre for Justice innovation, Money court
online, eLitigation Singapore, Water court, Co-parenting court, Neighbour
courts, Justices of the peace, Kaikaia: adjudication software for juvenile
courts in Nicaragua, Videoconferncing, Blinded
experts, innovatingjustice.com,Justice in your community
Peru, OECD, Commercial courts with auditors and business
men, Employment tribunals, World Justice Project, Religious family courts
ndonesia, Patent courts, Disability courts, Social security tribunals, BC Civi
resolution centre, Juvenile courts, Immigration tribunals, ODR intake
forms, QandA intakes, Multidoor courthouse, Services to unrepresented

20. What is effective?
1. Specialized procedures for
urgent/frequent problems

21. What is effective?
2. Better integration with supply chain
– Legal
information, settlement, prosecution, medi
ation

22. What is effective?
3. Simplification, empowering, self help

23. What is effective?
4. Sophisticated innovation methods

24. What is effective?
5. Chief judge having/taking broad
responsibility

25. What is effective?
6. Computerization and online procedures

26. The court of the future …

27. Is likely to deliver procedures that are …
Specialized
Fully integrated
Simple to operate
Developed as product
Under your responsibility
Supported online …

28. Diagnosis
Free
Online adjudication platform
Adjustable to
• Case type
• Jurisdiction
• Advice
• Referral
• Reflection
Intake
€50?
• Facts/data
• Issues
• Possible solutions
Dialogue
€100?
• Compare views
• Agree solutions
Settlement
Free or €€€
Legal information
Calculation tools
Neutral legal advice
Financial planning
Other services
€500
• Mediation
• Online or offline
Decision
€?
• Judge
• Remaining
issues

29. Modria Resolution Platform

30. In one or two years …
Courts can use smart online adjudication
systems
Fully configurable
To problem type
To national rules
For €25-100 per case filed

31. Innovation at courts happens

32. But not as much as elsewhere
What are main challenges
for court leaders?

33. 1. THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE TRAP
– Less delay, more effective and accessible
procedure = 0verburdened court
– Little say over product and price
(procedure, fees)
2. Need for more HUMAN,
less complex procedures
– Serving people with or without lawyers
3. Need to enhance neutrality,
INDEPENDENCE, accountability

34. Breakthroughs are possible!
Our report mentions 3 conditions for more
effective courts

35. 1. Excellent procedures require
a vision
and clear terms of reference

36. Examples of strategic options:
What should the procedure be able to achieve?
1. Excellent court of last resort?
2. Excellence in solving legal issues?
3. Resolving problems in excellent way?
What does not work:
Deciding on strategy by debate among judges

37. The benefits of choice
• Focus, motivated people, easier management
• Each option leads to clear but different
– Innovation goals and terms of reference, court
size, skills, staffing, IT systems, links other
adjudicators, partnerships, relationships with users, legal
professionals, general public
• If courts do not choose, others will for them
– Random politics, ministries, competing adjudicators

38. 2. True excellence requires a very
sophisticated funding model

39. Funding models for courts:
Huge barrier to innovation
Innovation > more value/less costs >
more cases filed >
uncertain funding > risk of financial disaster >
court leaders take no risk >
no innovation

40. Good funding models within reach
• Innovation = lower costs + more
value
• More willingness to pay
• Sophisticated fee and funding
systems for specialized services

41. 3. Courts take responsibility for
design and maintenance of
procedures

42. Rules of procedure are
barrier to innovation
Great principles
Rules old, detailed, not updated
Innovation has to wait until rules change
Judges twist laws if they innovate

43. Imagine medical treatments would be
designed by legislators

44. Health care sector
Each year 10,000s of innovations
in diagnosis, treatments, software and
hardware, computer
programs, medicine, methods for
surgery, instruments

45. Because of risks, quality concerns
Health care innovations
Are certified/licensed/monitored
BUT NOT DESIGNED
By rule makers

46. Our proposal:
Future laws of
procedure:
Reframing
Principles
+
Certification
system for
procedures
+
Monitoring

47. Releasing the value of courts
Well monitored:
1. Strategic independence
2. Financial independence
3. Independent designing and
maintaining excellent
procedures

48. Maurits.Barendrecht@hiil.org
www.hiil.org
If empowered to develop excellent procedures
The future of courts looks bright!