Open justice applies the principles of open government – transparency, civic participation, and public accountability – to the justice system.[1]
Modern technologies have the capacity
to bring about notable improvements in terms of transparency, efficiency, and
access to justice. Additionally, these technologies can play a role in
advancing the creation of user-centered services within the realm of justice
systems.
Judicial transformation should bring justice closer to people and improve
efficiency of services.[2] Accessibility of comprehensive information
about the judiciary is one of the determining factors of public trust. Besides,
access to public information can promote informed public
debate and increase the quality of participatory processes.[3]
The effective utilization of technologies in the judicial system
has the potential to carry out a large amount of work, which can reduce the
administrative burden of court personnel. However, the study revealed that, in
the Georgian context, technologies could not improve the situation in terms of
transparency and accessibility of public information. Despite the use of
electronic systems in the judiciary, the Tbilisi City Court still cannot
provide public information of high public interest, citing the substantial time
and resources required for processing.
Access to court decisions remains a significant challenge. None of
the decisions delivered after April 30, 2020, are published on the portal ecd.court.ge.
Furthermore, the amendment made in June 2023 to the Organic Law of Georgia on
Common Courts is problematic, as it stipulates that decisions delivered at an
open session will be considered public information only after the final
decision enters into force.
The
study also demonstrated that Tbilisi City Court does not adequately fulfill the
obligations specified in
the decision N1/225 of the High Council of Justice: as of September 2023, a significant
part of the information that should be published proactively is not available
on the website of the Court.
The interviews conducted
as part of this study revealed that after the pandemic, court hearings in
Tbilisi City Court are held in a physical environment. The majority of
attorneys express a preference for remote court sessions post-pandemic unless
witness interrogations or other circumstances necessitate the physical presence
of parties in court. According to the respondents, the favorable aspect of a
remote session include saving time, reducing costs, and preserving human
resources. Besides, it reduces the need to postpone
hearings when a party cannot attend due to valid reasons.
User satisfaction is a key dimension of the
quality of justice. In 2018, the High Council of Justice adopted
the Rule for Conducting Satisfaction Surveys of Court Users and the Questionnaire for Assessing
Satisfaction of Court
Users. Unfortunately,
this Rule is silent on taking relevant measures in response to the problems
identified through the survey. Moreover, access to information regarding the
trends identified in particular courts is not ensured. Besides, conducting satisfaction surveys
electronically and automating data processing would simplify the process and
reduce the administrative workload on the employees of the administrative
office.
Ultimately,
the judicial system should effectively use technologies as the means of
improving transparency and citizen-centered court services and should promote
the implementation of open justice principles.
The study is available here.
[1] Open Government Partnership
Global Report, Open Justice, Justice Policy Series, Part 2, p. 9, <https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Open-Justice_Justice-II_20201214.pdf> [30.09.2023].
[2] CEPEJ
Guidelines on electronic court filing (e-filing) and digitalisation of courts, § 2.
[3] OECD
Guidelines for Citizen Participation Processes, OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD
Publishing, Paris,
2022, p. 32.
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