As part of digitalisation process of Bangladesh judiciary, a system of digital recording of deposition in the district courts by the judges will be launched soon, said an official source.
The system will be introduced in Sylhet district court first.
Besides, information system has already been upgraded in three district courts under the digitalisation project of the judiciary.
From now on, the litigants can learn about the status of their cases through mobile text message in these three courts which include Dhaka, Kishoreganj and Rangamati district courts. They have been provided with high-speed internet connectivity.
Laptops and computers have been given these courts with high-speed internet facility. Trained judges and officials have also been appointed, the sources said.
The courts introduced cause list system so that poor complainants could be informed about the update of their cases. SMS or mobile apps named “bdcourts” can help the litigants in this regard.
A Supreme Court official said the justices of higher court are monitoring the day to day case management system as the cause list system is modernised to expedite the system.
In 2011, recognising the potential of ICT in the judiciary, the Supreme Court and UNDP have been working together towards making the court system digital and have already undertaken initiatives for introducing the use of ICT in every day court processes.
“There is no way, I can overemphasise the importance of ICTs in our daily lives,” Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha at a workshop on “ Digitalization of Judiciary” at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre yesterday.
He said as the prices of mobile devices continued to dip and more technology got squeezed into these hand-held equipment, these instruments have become equally indispensable the extent to which power is exploited.
“For good measure, the government’s Digital Bangladesh by 2021 also recognises the power of ICTs give us and the possibilities it throws open in our daily lives. Legal services should be one of the main priorities of the Digital Bangladesh initiative,” the chief justice added.
The court room friendly dictation device, voice to Bangla text, internet connectivity for 64 districts courts, case management system for district courts, Wifi for district courts, online case information system for the litigants and Web/SMS based cause list works are going on in full swing.
The chief justice has laid emphasise on facilitation of video conference system between the apex court and district courts, evidence recording through video conference, electronic case filling system, digital display for each court, judgement archiving, section automation, record digitalisation, human resource management, accounting software, e-library, inventory system, data centre for district courts and bio-metric attendance systems to expedite the judicial system.
Reazaul Al Masum, ICT manager of UNDP, said on the supply side, the availability of web services, possibility of referring to online legislation and case law, use of electronic filling, electronic exchange of legal documents, are only some examples that are acting as positive change drivers.
At the same time, the increasing ubiquity of the internet provides an opportunity to open the judiciary to the public, providing both general and specific information on its activities, thereby also increasing legitimacy and enhancing trust, he added.
In modern times, the rapid development of technology has opened up new opportunities that were unthinkable earlier and several countries have embraced statutory steps to allow use and exchange of electronic data and documents within national judicial systems.
Taking a leap forward the UNDP has now prepared an all-encompassing e-Justice strategy, referred by the name e@syJUSTICE 2021, for comprehensive ICT adoption in the justice sector.
e@syJUSTICE 2021 aims to accomplish critical milestones of ICT enabled judicial reform by 2021 through a spectrum of interventions that include technology deployment, capacity building, institutional establishment, awareness building and outreach.