The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Ishaq Bello, on Thursday, launched an e-filing and case management system to improve justice delivery in the FCT.
The application manages the entire case process, from the point of filling to the point when the case is decided.
The CJ said this was an effort to improve justice delivery, through the development of online courts and digital processes.
He added that he had seen how judges toiled to ensure that justice was delivered and under the most uncomfortable conditions.
“The pandemic has made this year a difficult and challenging one. It has, however, opened our eyes to new ways of doing things.
“Also, technology could be used to our advantage in saving travel time, physical meetings, conferences and even social contact.
“More fundamentally for us as a public institution, we began to think of ways to leverage technology to our advantage, at the height of the pandemic” he said.
Bello noted that justice cannot be insulated from the digital revolution, especially as technology development continues to advance, the law and justice system should not be frightened of it.
He said that technology should be harnessed to provide better and more efficient services to the public as it improves access to justice, stressing that the software offered litigants, through their counsel, the opportunity to file their matters comfortably online.
“The software has the capacity to accommodate online payment and every sundry attachments to the court processes.
“The era of paper work is fast eroding as the software is developed to empower both the administrative and judicial proceedings of the case.
“As a web-based software, it enables easy access to the weekly Cause list and the tracking of existing cases in various courts in the FCT high court with an intention to monitor the stages of proceedings and eventual delays, if any” he said.
Many judges were in attendance and asked questions from the consultant, who explained the workings of the software.
On October 28, 2020, the FCT Judiciary also launched a digital speech recording machine and video transcription system, for quick and efficient court proceedings.
