With promises of a Digital Bangladesh being realized slowly but surely, the authorities deserve commendation for undertaking intentions for an “e-judiciary” -- a project through which about 2,000 courtrooms will be digitized. While such measures have been in the works for a while and really took off during the pandemic, it is good to see the authorities recognizing its need and following through with the commencement of such a project.
The courts in question will have audio recording pool systems, virtual terminals, and camera trial rooms in the central jail. The in-house Boithok app will be used to ensure privacy. Laptops and desktops will also be provided to judges and court staff, and around 75,000 lawyers will be provided with training to take advantage of this system.
This is a prudent move on part of the government. Despite the push for digitization of the country, a large section of the populace lacks access to technology and digital literacy. Even a lot of senior court staff and judges are not comfortable with the usage of technology. As such, the authorities’ pro-active measures to mitigate such an issue are not only laudable but also deserve praise for being immensely prescient.
Of course, the project is so far only in the planning stage. We have seen myriads of high potential promises like this, only for them to fizzle out in the end. The tentative timeline of two years for the completion of the project is ambitious, and relevant stakeholders must make sure that this timeline is adhered to. We have problems with both corruption and bureaucratic red tape, alongside the budget of different projects ballooning out of thin air. Relevant authorities need to keep a close watch on this project so that the timeline is adhered to, and anyone who tries to exploit the plan for their own gains needs to be brought to justice.
Lastly, the judiciary is only the first piece of the puzzle. If we want to be truly digital as a nation, we need to digitize all of our services and digitize them in efficient and user-friendly ways.