In 2021 the conversation about court automation is more vivid than ever. Depending on the problems different courts face, the conversation varies. These problems may be a growing backlog of cases, increasing crime rates, court schedule that is often being disrupted, etc.
When we look at the technologies that support the digitalisation of court processes, we may stumble into various terms. But perhaps the most inclusive one is court automation. Court case management systems, court scheduling software, judicial workflow automation tools – they all are being encompassed by the term court automation.
Conducting virtual court hearings and virtual court proceeding was initially met with a big dose of scepticism by judges, lawyers and other court users. Now more than 12 months living into the new normal, the sceptical voices are fading out and it’s more likely to hear a positive assessment of the virtual court hearing experience.
A good court case management system enables courts to be more efficient. But what makes courts more effective in reducing crime?
20 years ago the only way to open and store a court case file was the paper folder. Case folders tend to become thicker and bigger with time. Collecting official forms, requests, resolutions, images, etc. turned into time-consuming and expensive task.
The first weeks of the pandemic caused many delays and cancellations in the courtrooms across judicial institutions. However, justice systems quickly picked up on that and found a way to transform their work. Even better – together with the newly adopted methods for work like virtual hearings, some courts started gaining efficiency.
Casedoc is officially launching new product feature named Casedoc Virtual Hearing. This new feature will enable the transformation of regular virtual meetings into digital court hearings. It will be available as an add-on in Microsoft Teams application and will convert the platform from a Connection Point into a Virtual Hearing Hub.
The Virtual Hearing offering utilizes the latest collaboration and communication technology from the Teams platform, part of the Microsoft O365 product family.
o prioritize digital transformation in court, one must also keep an eye on emerging technologies. That’s why justice CIOs should be able to identify the technologies that have the potential to improve the digital experience of the court users. A full court management software solution would allow to stay in the future and not get behind the emerging technologies.
To transform paper-based processes in the justice system is like putting together a big complex puzzle. Some people will piece the puzzle together faster than others. The faster one is going to draw more applause. The same applies in the process of piecing together a paperless court system in the justice sector. Those who are doing it better are going to maintain higher public trust and confidence.
