Filenews 8 June 2021 - by Michalis Hatzivasilis
They are not found by the Ministry of Justice and lawyers on the issue of the implementation of i-justice, which is considered a precursor to e-justice. It is not out of the question that, in the absence of a development, e-justice will be applied before i-justice.
Last Thursday the two sides had a meeting, but the difference remains and the distance between them was not bridged despite the goodwill that exists from both Minister Emily Yolitis and the Cyprus Bar Association.
The great thorn in piloting i-justice is the lawyer who should be paid electronically for the relevant documents. This is an amount of around €55,000 a year, which lawyers are asking for to be paid by the Government, since it is the equivalent of paying a percentage of JCC's use for electronic transactions. The Government, through the Minister of Justice, replies that this would be illegal since it would be regarded as sponsorship, an action prohibited by the EU.
Despite the disagreements, the two sides will continue their consultations since i-justice is considered to be a precursor to the new era in the Courts, since the anachronistic system of affixing stamps to applications registered in the courts will be abolished.
Already, the Supreme Court, in two of its decisions, set the start of the pilot program for specific document entries for political and review procedure only, but few lawyers proceeded to take advantage of the measure because of the dispute that exists. The Supreme Court's last announcement on the matter was on 20 May when it announced that the pilot operation of the i-justice system on the basis of the Electronic Justice (Electronic Registration) Procedural Regulation of 2021 is extended until Wednesday, 30 June 2021, only to the Courts and in relation to the Registers listed as follows: For the Nicosia and Larnaca District Courts for Civil Jurisdiction (bankruptcy applications) , debt relief, requisition orders, companies, referrals and a personal repayment plan).
Also, only for the Famagusta District Court for electronic registration of lawsuits and for the Administrative Court for the registration of appeals.
According to the Supreme Court, the entries that will be made by external users, in the Courts and Registers mentioned in the Table, during the above period, will form part of the electronic file of each case, to which they will relate. In relation to cases that will be registered during the period, it will be possible for external users to register documents electronic or physically. Cases registered before the start of the pilot operation of the system will be updated exclusively by physical registration.
