International Law

NSW courtrooms move online

Very exciting news on the future of e-courts in New South Wales, as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald:

COURT cases will be conducted live on the internet in NSW from next week.

JusticeLink, a $48 million cutting-edge computer system, will be introduced into the District Court, allowing lawyers, prosecutors, judges and magistrates to conduct procedural hearings online.

Cutting out court appearances for preliminary procedural arguments and directions would make the system more efficient, saving time and money, Attorney-General John Hatzistergos said. While trials and committal hearings would continue to be held in courtrooms, simple procedural matters to be decided online would cut the need for parties to attend court.

"Traditionally, quite a few court appearances could be required to decide procedural matters before the hearing or trial could begin," Mr Hatzistergos. "JusticeLink will allow prosecutors and defence lawyers to log into a bulletin board, where they will type their arguments.

Read more here.

Full post as published by Freedom to Differ on February 04, 2008 (boomark / email).