Filenews 19 January 2021 - by Myrto Zoubidou
Brake on endless paperwork, delays, queues in the courts for the registration and handling of court cases attempts to put the much-discussed system of electronic justice.
The Ministry of Justice is initially piloting interim e-justice by modernising the judicial data of the site with the pandemic being a first-class opportunity to launch developments. The new system was piloted on Monday 18 January with those involved able to test it, take all steps to register documents without being able to complete the steps at this stage. As we are able to know, this system will be fully implemented in February and will be a focal point in the process of modernising and restructuring the justice sector.
The system concerns:
- External users: Lawyers, Law Firms, Administrators, Support Staff
- Internal users: Registered, Judges, Authorized Users (by Court, Jurisdiction),
- Authorised Administrators (by Court)
As far as its operational elements are concerned, it includes
• Electronic case registration/processing system
• Electronic Case Folders
• Payment of fees
• Registration, validation, processing and exchange of documents
As a spokesperson for the Ministry of Innovation and Research explained to Filenews, digital justice is expected to significantly improve the administrative functioning and efficiency of the Courts and will save time and cost. It offers flexibility, speed and accessibility while reducing and optimizing public service by reducing the need for physical presence during service. At the same time, the new system offers immediate information on case development, electronic archiving and reporting and statistics.
Paphos Bar Association: If the state wants e-justice to fund it
If the state wants to implement e-justice, it should fund it rather than shoulder the shoulders of private lawyers, says Paphos Bar Association President Savvas Zannupas, adding that due to the pandemic lawyers have become in a dire financial position.
In a statement to the CYPE, Mr. Zannupas said that the Government together with the Cyprus Bar Association are oriented towards the launch of e-justice, according to which the registration of documents will be done electronically.
