House Approves Bill to Facilitate Electronic Signatures in Court

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday (March 28), approved the Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Act 2023, which will, among other things, facilitate the acceptance of electronic signatures in the court system.

Piloting the legislation, Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, said the proposed changes are part of measures by the Government to maximise operational efficiencies and improve productivity levels in the island’s courts, which are highly paper-based.

This is through the introduction of a paperless, digitalised and digitised system.

He noted that the existing process used in the courts to generate warrants is not sufficiently expedient to meet current needs and requires an appropriate and immediate fix to give judges the ability to utilise an electronic signature in the issuance of warrants.

Noting that traffic matters comprise more than 70 per cent of total annual case load in the parish courts, Minister Chuck informed that between February 1, 2023, and March 27, 2023, some 66,428 tickets were issued for violations of the Road Traffic Act (2018) and Regulations (2022).

He informed that of the number, payments were made for 27,617 at the various tax collectorates across the island, 246 were settled in the courts, and 5,511 will likely require the issuance of warrants in the short-term.

“When taken in the context of the fact that the remaining 33,054 matters generated over the last 55 days have still not been brought before the courts, along with the approximately 981,921 unpaid tickets issued up to January 31, 2023, the monumental task facing the court if reliance is placed on warrants issued by handwriting, cannot be discounted,” he contended.

Minister Chuck explained that the ultimate goal is to maximise efficiency in the processes used by the courts without compromising the integrity and safety that currently exists where warrants are signed by hand.

“For the use of electronic signatures to be accepted, used and trusted by the various stakeholders, specific safeguards will be introduced in order to prevent unauthorised use of the electronic versions of the signatures of the judges in the parish courts,” he pointed out.

Minister Chuck explained that the security risks associated with the use of electronic signatures, such as fraud, will be mitigated through the establishment and maintenance of a stable and controlled environment, supported by the requisite safeguards and fit-for-purpose infrastructure, as well as training of the users interfacing directly with the system.

These efforts, he said, will increase the levels of trust by the stakeholders in the justice system.

Minister Chuck pointed out that other jurisdictions, such as the United States, Rwanda, and Scotland, facilitate the use of electronic signatures that are affixed through a secure process approved by the court and governed by legislation.

The Bill also amends the Justices of the Peace Jurisdiction Act.

Minister Chuck explained that Clause 2 of the Bill proposes an amendment to Section 6 of the principal Act to make it clear that no provision of the Act or any other law shall be construed as precluding a court from giving, receiving, or keeping any document, record or other information in electronic form.

“This will, however, be subject to Rules of the Court and the provisions of the First Schedule of the Act,” Minister Chuck said.

Clause 3 of the Bill proposes an amendment to the First Schedule to include circumstances in which the Electronic Transactions Act could apply to court proceedings or procedures, while Clause 4 addresses the terminology used in reference to the issuance of warrants to ensure compatibility with the language used in the Electronic Transactions Act.

The legislation was supported by the Opposition.