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Electronic agenda for the judiciary

By T. K. Viswanathan

The digital revolution has effected a paradigm shift in the way we communicate... This requires the Judiciary to take a fresh look at the traditional concepts of the rights, duties and obligations.

THE RECENT announcement by the Chief Justice of India constituting an Advisory Body to develop a national vision and strategy to effectively use modern technology to enhance the judicial system in the country is timely. According to its terms of reference, the Advisory Body has to consider the various stakeholders' expectations from the judicial system and examine the manner in which modern information and communication technologies can help meet them and to suggest the overall vision for the use of information and communication technology in courts. In doing so it shall have regard to the expectations of the various stakeholders in terms of convenience, transparency, ease of access, reliability and speed.

The digital revolution has given birth to a new idea in the realm of administration of justice — adjudication through the e-courts. A typical e-court will enable litigants to file documents through e-mail and also pay the court fees through the Internet. It will enable electronic service of documents through e-mail to the parties.

In such an environment, authentication of electronic records will be done by affixing digital signatures. Notice of hearings will be intimated by e-mail and counsel for the litigants will be in a position to know before hand the workload of the judges by accessing their electronic diary. Courtrooms will be completely computer-integrated with imaging software to capture paper documents and the proceedings of the case including counsels' arguments will be captured on digital cameras and will form part of the record.

Computers and new communication technologies offer enormous opportunities for the Judiciary to streamline the adjudication process. Various countries are exploring the feasibility of using information technology in the administration of justice.

The electronic initiatives under consideration may vary but certain commonalities remain. Electronic filing appears to be the starting point of this initiative. Such a system refers to the filing of documents in court in the electronic format such as CDs, floppy disks etc. It also includes the transmission of pleadings and other documents to the court by e-mail or in a web-based format. In cases where they are transmitted through the Net the person filing them must authenticate the documents and his identity by putting them in a sealed and electronic envelope and deliver them to the court through a secure Internet link. Electronic filing, in other words, is the first stone in the foundation of the e-courts of tomorrow.

The electronic initiative in the U.K. was the result of the Woolf Committee Report and lays emphasis on case management. Case management envisages the following components — the Electronic Case Record, the basis of the electronic case system containing a compendium of information about a particular case and events in the life of a case including all orders made in the proceedings; the Electronic File, containing all documents relevant to a particular case which can be searched by date and event; the Electronic Diary which keeps a record of hearings listed before a judge and also to schedule cases electronic diary will be used; the Electronic Case Management System, which is used for management of individual cases as it progresses and also for case-load management for distribution of workload between the various judges.

Many States in the U.S. are in the process of implementing electronic filing of cases. New Jersey is getting ready for e-filing of cases, Californian courts are to have electronic filing rules in place by January 1, 2003, by virtue of a law enacted in 1998 while Michigan enacted a law as early as in January 2001 creating an e-court.

Computerised management of documentary evidence will greatly enhance efficiency in the administration of justice. The judges' task will be rendered easy if the claims and counter-claims of the litigants, readily available in the electronic format, are juxtaposed against the background of the judicial database comprising the case law of the Supreme Court and that of the High Courts. The judicial database should be hyperlinked to other cases, provisions of the Act, rule or notification to which references occur within the judgment so that judges can navigate through the case law and statute book with ease. The Supreme Court's home page should be linked with the home pages of the various High Courts through a wide area network (WAN). This will facilitate e-mail communications among the judicial fraternity and will also make it easy for the courts to access each other's judgments with ease.

With the enactment of the Information Technology Act, 2000, electronic records and digital signatures have been legally recognised in India. A digital signature ensures authenticity and integrity of documents and also the identity of the signer of the document. Thus, the first concern which has to be taken care of in electronic filing is already available in India. Those willing to do so may file documents electronically using digital signatures to the courts. Further, a secure connection is essential to link all the High Courts in the country.

Every High Court should have a home page wherein all judgments and orders of the court can be instantly uploaded as and when they are delivered. In cases where appeals are made to it, the Supreme Court can automatically download the judgments from the High Courts thus saving paper work and also the need for the litigants to submit judgments on other orders of the judgments appealed against.

There cannot be two opinions on whether the judicial system should migrate to a digital environment. The Information Technology Act, 2002, has taken into account the legislative backing required for such migration. Apart from granting legal recognition to electronic records and digital signatures it has done something more. Chapter III of the Act lays the foundation of electronic governance in India, which has not received the attention it deserves. In particular, Section 6 provides for the filing of any form, application or any other document with any office, authority, body or agency owned or controlled by the appropriate Government in electronic form. It also empowers Government agencies to issue or grant licences, permits, sanctions or approval in electronic form and also for the receipt or payment of money in electronic form. The Act also grants legal status to the electronic gazette.

In the U.S., the National Center for State Courts provides professional services such as court technology services, consulting, research, education and information exchange to the 16,000 or so State courts. Its consulting services have advised on workload and saving of time, case flow and management performance, operational and organisational reviews etc. It has published `A Guide Book on Electronic Court Filing' which describes in detail the prerequisites for electronic filing. In India, the National Judicial Academy is already in position and should assume the role played by the National Center for State Courts in the U.S. by offering training for judicial officers in court technology.

The digital revolution has effected a paradigm shift in the way we communicate. It has wide-ranging ramifications for human relationships. This requires the Judiciary to take a fresh look at the traditional concepts of the rights, duties and obligations in the light of the challenges posed by the digital revolution. Unless it switches over from the analogue mode to the digital mode, the Judiciary will not be in a position to meet the challenges of the Third Millennium. The Advisory body constituted by the CJI should address these concerns.

(The writer is Member-Secretary, Law Commission of India. The views expressed are his own.)

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