Three courtrooms have been upgraded with state-of-the-art webcams and monitors and another five will be ready by the end of next year to facilitate court proceedings in civil cases by doing away with the physical presence of the parties in court. 

The new system runs on Microsoft Teams and will enable parties to join in the sitting without being physically present in court. The programme can be run on a smartphone, laptop or computer. 

The facility is, however, not available to the public, who will need to be present in court to follow proceedings. Unlike Parliament TV, people cannot follow proceedings online if they so wish.

Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said the digitalisation programme was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic but was already on the cards before it. He said it will ensure that people are provided with justice within a more reasonable time. 

The project saw the upgrading of the court networks, with over 122 kilometres of cabling – the distance to Ragusa – to be able to have the proper infrastructure in place to have the system up and running. 

Microsoft UK is currently running a training programme for court staff and this course will also be offered to members of the judiciary. 

Virtual sittings for criminal cases is more complicated

Zammit Lewis explained that the legal framework for these virtual court sittings was signed by President George Vella on Friday. 

He explained that although the facility is for now only available in the civil camp, where people do not necessarily have to be present in court, the criminal field is more cumbersome because of the legal requirement for certain witnesses to testify in court “viva voce”. However, the presiding magistrate can still use the facility for those witnesses who live abroad, for example, or those who cannot be physically present. 

He was speaking during a visit to court where he saw the project working. Minister Zammit Lewis stressed that this initiative is part of a broader policy to digitise the justice system. European funds were used for the project which is one of a series of initiatives taken to make justice more accessible and efficient for citizens.

The state-of-the-art webcam and the screen that will be used to watch other parties.

Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale, the president of the Association of the Judiciary, welcomed the digitisation but urged the authorities to roll it out to all other courtrooms so that more people are positively affected.

Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis launches the new digitised system at the Law Courts. Photo: DOI

Chamber of Advocates president Louis DeGabriele echoed this, adding that this was very good news for lawyers who do not need to be physically present in court with their clients to make their submissions before a judge. This will also significantly reduce administrative costs and significant time savings.