Sykes eyes most significant overhaul in courts since Independence

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes is banking on the cooperation of local attorneys, whose support he says is critical to achieving digital transformation within the judiciary.

Speaking at the Jamaican Bar Association’s annual conference on Friday, Justice Sykes declared a “reorientation” of the court system, underpinned by the use of technology in service delivery.

“We’re talking about a digital environment in which citizens and others will be able to communicate with the court over the Internet through their computers without coming physically to the court building to complete transactions such as getting a certificate copy of court orders or viewing files,” he said.

The chief justice stated that this transformation will be fundamental in the next five years.

Integral to this modification of the court system is the ease of access for citizens, which, he said, will be facilitated by the integration of technology.

“This quite likely will involve creating kiosks, staffed by court personnel, who will assist our citizens who are not able to or who may not have Internet access to find documents or to check information on the court’s databases,” he said.

Acknowledging that the courts “have not done a very good” job of record management, he asserted that current modern technology has a significant role to play in improving that aspect of its operations.

“There are too many instances where you, attorneys, have to provide the court with the same documentation several times during the life of the case,” he said, adding that this inflates cost and puts a strain on the litigation budget.

Lamenting the inefficiency of the current paper system, which he said results in difficulties finding mislaid or missing files, Justice Sykes noted that the aim is to create an environment in which case management and communication with the court are done electronically.

“The idea is that as time goes on, we will be introducing the system in which all matters will have to be originated electronically. The proposed system is to have end-to-end digitisation – that is from filing initially to final disposition in a digital environment,” he stated.

“We must move to the point where there is a complete electronic file that is properly secured and safe from unauthorised access. This will facilitate better records management. It will enable us to locate files long after the matter has been completed. It will enable us to deliver other services that can only be done in the context of fully digitised records,” he added.

Justice Sykes said the expectation is that this will reduce case processing time, decrease wait time for final and intermediate orders, reduce instances of missing or mislaid files, and improve case file integrity for hearings, applications and trials.

“Backlog should be eliminated and become a footnote in our legal history. Efficiency and timeliness are to become the norm,” he declared.

But, for this to happen, he said a change in thinking is necessary, noting that the court has had instances in the past where the anticipated benefits of introducing technology were not realised.

“The coming change has to be done in such a manner that involves critical stakeholders from the beginning,” he stated. “The creation of the digital environment will require a great deal of planning and strategising on the part of the judiciary, but we cannot do it alone. You, the attorneys and the judiciary must be partners in this very significant transformation of our legal processes. It will be the most significant process and procedural development in our courts since Independence,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com