Digital Judicial Case Management System Implementation Being Pursued
By: , January 4, 2024
Photo: Adrian Walker
Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen (left), converses with Chief Justice, Hon. Bryan Sykes, during a recent swearing-in ceremony at King’s House for nine members of the judiciary who have been appointed to higher office.The Full Story
It could cost the Government between US$3 million and US$5 million to implement an integrated electronic case management framework for the justice system.
This was disclosed by Chief Justice, Hon. Bryan Sykes, during a JIS News interview.
He said it is proposed to commence the process of developing and operating the electronic case management system in both civil and criminal courts.
“The whole idea behind that is to have a case management system [that] links all our courts, all the Parish Courts, the Supreme Court, the Gun Court, the High Court Division of the Gun Court, the Circuit Division of the Gun Court and the Court of Appeal,” Mr. Sykes explained.
The Chief Justice informed that the proposal is to go before Cabinet for its approval.
“Since I am an optimist, I am assuming that they will give their approval; and what that would mean is that we would now get the go-ahead to develop this system, along with our partners in Rwanda. The expectation is that you will have improved efficiency, because you will have less paper moving around [and] you will have reduced instances of missing files,” Mr. Sykes said.
“You will have instances, now, where the files can be transferred from one court to another without any loss of time, and what that would mean, and it is important to stress this, is that the staff will be working in a different way,” he added.
The Chief Justice said the digitisation process is not about reducing the number of employees within the courts.
“Oftentimes when persons hear of digitisation and digitalisation, they think that it is a plan to get rid of them. That is not the plan. It is about changing the way in which we work, using the digital technology that is available to us,” he further stated.
Mr. Sykes noted that while the cost can vary anywhere, initially, between US$3 million and US$5 million, it will be an ongoing project.
“One of the things about digitisation [is] it is a train that has a one-way ticket, and once you get on, there is no getting off. It is simply a matter of improving and refining what you have [until] you get to the point where you are serving your constituents and your stakeholders optimally and efficiently, so that the persons and people of Jamaica can get value for their money,” he added.