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VIRTUAL COURTS- A way forward?

This article is written by Anshumi Maloo, a student at Karnavati University. Gandhinagar. All the aspects of Virtual Courts which can be a way forward in the future and also the term ‘Robot Judge’ has been discussed in this article.

Introduction to Virtual Courts

The elementary courtroom etiquettes hold substantial value in the profession of law. The craft of forming and presenting arguments, leaving a sublime impression before the judges, the atmosphere created during the argument- the art of entering the courtroom with grace and confidence, and a non-hesitant self-portrayal is a must. All these basic etiquettes hold value in one’s career especially for young lawyers who ought to learn such skills to develop an impression in the minds of the judges.

Due to the massive outbreak of Covid-19, the atmosphere of the courtroom has totally modified, there’s a shift from the usual courtroom etiquettes to virtual courts.

In simple words, virtual courts are those courts that are “online courts.” There is no need for physical presence in virtual courts, and all procedures are carried out using the technical method through online mode. This facilitates remote work. The aim of these types of online courts is to minimize physical movement and, through the internet mechanism, make adjudication of the case possible.[1]

2020 has been a significant year of transition in the room for conflict resolution: courts are online, virtual judges are positioned to determine our cases, and our daily lives are profoundly influenced by crowd-sourced justice systems. Technology techniques are built to interfere with the courts, and here are some of the latest advances in technology.

When the government announced a nationwide lockdown on 24 March 2020, the functioning of the Indian Judiciary came to a stop. The Judiciary was trying to find new ways of beginning the hearing and other judicial duties because it was unclear how long it was possible to postpone the administration of justice.[2]

There were many pending lawsuits in the courts, but waiting for the reduction in corona cases was unlikely. In the aftermath of this pandemic, the Supreme Court of India issued orders to all the courts in the country for the colossal use of video conferencing in court proceedings.

In Faridabad in 2019, India’s first virtual court was introduced. Until then, there has been very little attempt at turning conventional courts into virtual courts. The President of India unveiled an application on 26 November 2019 named ‘Vaidik Anuvaad Software Supreme Court,’ which is able to translate English judicial records into nine vernacular languages and vice versa.[3]

Prospects

1] Cost savings and availability of hours of service are some of the main advantages of a virtual court. Traditionally, on working days, tribunals are not open to the press. This is limiting, however, in that many litigants who need access to the courts still operate on business days.

2] Digital courts will not only remove this obstacle by providing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, online access to electronic filing and other case management, but litigants will also be able to engage in video conferencing proceedings. As they will have access to hearings from their home or office, litigants will no longer be required to leave work for the court.

3] Digital court has made things simpler for them and filing can be done through e-mail or WhatsApp. Government representatives, advocates, and other personnel from several districts have to make many visits about their case hearing, filing their answer or affidavits, judgments, etc.

4] As there will be more sustained eye to eye contact, video conferencing proves to have more witness credibility, which helps to minimize distraction and improve attention without making the court some statements.

5] The decreased likelihood of a person being infected by COVID-19 as the social distance is preserved is one of the significant prospects.

6] The extension of virtual courts would ensure convenient access for all parts of society to justice in affordable courts[4].

7] With the aid of virtual courts, the judiciary system in India will resolve challenges and make the process of service delivery transparent and cost-effective.

8] Virtual courts would also benefit from the justice system and allow for the versatile storage of digital information. This will allow judges to access the proceedings of a previous case or, at the click of a button, to retrieve other relevant documents.[5]

9] Lawyers are not expected to be physically present before the court, saving travel and time costs for themselves.

10] It will make it easier for information to be exchanged since all stored data is available in a digitized form at one location.[6]

Challenges

1] It is important to take into account other interoperable aspects when talking about the sense of infrastructural needs. Bandwidth is the most important thing. The courts may also reject the notion of using third-party-controlled software on the grounds of a data privacy violation.

2] On top of technology, cyber-security will also be a big concern. In order to address this issue, the government has undertaken remedial measures and formulated the Cyber Security Policy, but it is more on the side of prescribed guidelines alone. The functional and true execution of the same is yet to be seen.

3] Presenting an argument is a strength in advocacy. When an individual is cross-examined in court, it influences the reaction of a person. An advocate also has a greater chance of persuading the judge by analyzing the judges’ mindset and interest, which is not possible in a simulated hearing session.[7]

4] This includes weak internet access quality, obsolete and poor audio and video equipment, power cuts, failure to establish links at the agreed time, failure to participate by multiple parties, especially affecting interpreters and vulnerable witnesses. Lack of basic information technology awareness by lawyers, particularly in smaller centers.[8]

5] During virtual courts, disruptions are caused as there may be communication issues, sounds and noises during the presentation of the case, interference during the hearing by other persons, and unintentional errors by the advocates.[9]

6] In the physical matter the facial expressions, body language combined with the comments of the judges help the lawyers to mold their arguments. During video conferencing, the whole idea of presenting facts and asking questions to the witnesses can take a major turn due to the lack of understanding of body language, gestures, hesitant expressions, and questionably more issues.

Video conferencing can be an easy getaway for the witnesses to hide important and essential facts and change their statements due to the absence of the lawyer right in front of their naked eye.

7] An amateur lawyer always learns from the basic etiquettes present during the arguments. The way a judge interprets the specific laws and also the way judges read. Many times such events have occurred in the courtrooms that Senior judges have approached younger lawyers / fresher who are assisting and the judges have helped them with basic and relevant knowledge while the arguments were being presented in the court.

Such opportunities help younger lawyers to gain knowledge and work on themselves and towards presenting the arguments in a more effective way. Such incidents that are already quite rare in the physical courtroom, quite rare incidents may turn to none due to video conferencing.[10]

8] During the time period of video conferencing, it’ll be quite challenging for the judges to hear arguments put forward by the young flourishing lawyers for a span of 4-5 hours minimum. It may require commendable patience in the judges. Arguing the case in a point-to-point manner may not be possible for amateur lawyers being the beginning step of their careers and their experiences in the courtrooms.

9] The problems can be faced with the applicability and originality of the identification of witnesses and the validity of the evidence presented before the court may be uncertain. In such instances, open trials are better than simulated trials.

10] Transforming the entire judiciary into a virtual structure is very expensive in itself. The introduction of advanced technology and the digitization of any legal system subject matter is itself very important.