E-Courts: A Pressing Priority

The primary ambition of e-courts is to make the justice delivery system, thrifty, crystalline, expeditious and accountable by limiting the paper filings.

E-courts are designed to make legal mechanisms easier and more user friendly. In an e-court, the entire work is accomplished digitally wherein, the knowledge that is shared and set up is stored as a directory and corresponded to a particular server that can be accessed by litigants, judges, and advocates.

Difference Between E-Court and Computerized Courts

An Electronic Court means a location where issues of law are adjudicated; in the existence of Judge(s) and which has a well-developed infrastructure. An e-court is in contrast to a computerized court.

In the case of e-court, everything is done in a “Tech environment” with Internet and other Information Technology (IT), whereas a computerized court is nothing more than a court having computers and basic level hardware and software.

Importance of E-Court

The e-courts are about providing IT to enable courts to make justice dispensing system budget-friendly and lucrative. This would be constructive for both improving the court processes and providing citizen-centric services.

The key bargains of setting up Electronic Courts discovering a justice serving apparatus that is transpicuous, conducive, affordable, time-saving, safeguards the interests of witnesses, reduces the backlog of cases, and most importantly scale down the number of deceitful activities.

Challenges in Setting up e-courts

Challenges include the lack of harmonization, correspondence between various departments, training a large number of employees, lack of technical workforce in courts, and cognizance amongst litigants, advocates, and their welcoming to the system change.

1. Cost Intensiveness– E-courts will also prove to be capital intensive as setting up state of the art e-courts will require the disposal of new-age technology.  In the distant future, e-courts may face a lack of funds.
2. Cyber Security- While on technology, a big entanglement will be cybersecurity. However, the government should initiate remedial steps to cure this problem and devise the Cyber Security plan.
3. Insufficient infrastructure- we can also keep in mind concerns related to insufficient infrastructure and non-availability of electricity and internet connectivity in most of the mid-tier cities and towns.\

Solutions to address challenges in e-courts

1. Pre-decided framework– To address the aforementioned challenges we can firstly and make a policy for provoking the setting up of e-courts. It is important to draw up a well-defined and pre-decided framework as it can help in laying a clear protocol and direction to the e-courts scheme.
2. Upgrading present infrastructure- An important e-court related would be to rehabilitate the present infrastructure. The current judicial system does not support establishing the e-court, which needs to draw up by the government.
3. Access Security– One aspect that needs to ponder upon is the deployment of a robust security system that provides secure access to case information for suitable parties. The security of e-courts infrastructure and system is of predominant importance.
4. Awareness Campaign- Creating awareness around e-courts through roadshows and seminars can help to bring to light the facilities and the ease that e-courts can bring in…

Final Deduction

The e-court mechanism needs the executive and the judiciary to certify their resolve to support an expeditious, structured, and quality justice delivery in the country. It is also important to discuss the steps required to conquer the various challenges facing the justice system. Solutions that will address the challenges such as inordinate delays in disposal of cases in courts, easing access to speedy resolution disputes.

Setting up e-courts can bring blatantness and answerability in the judicial system as they can bring a lot more judicial reforms in a country while helping in dealing with the long-pending cases. E-courts will prove to be a major step in the evolution of country’s legal skeleton and will play a major role in uplifting the confidence in the judiciary.

Khalid Faheem

An attorney specialized in corporate law practice. A researcher, social and legal activist.