IT Support of the Judiciary

Information Technology (IT) has found its way into legal practice and as part of that into the judiciary. The present publication provides an impression of the developments in three continents, or, better, a country in each of these continents: Australia (Australia), Singapore (Asia), and Venezuela (South America). In addition, reports by Norway, the Netherlands and Italy are provided. These countries can be qualified as the best equipped and organized in IT for the judiciary in Europe. Amongst the issues addressed are electronic filing systems, decision support systems, the employment of knowledge management, and on-line services, including publication of verdicts. The central issue in the development of IT support for the judiciary worldwide appears the use of case management systems. IT is used as a means to bring about changes in most countries. In a very strong way this happened in Singapore, where IT was used to transform an old-fashioned organization, where it was hard or even impossible to get access to case information, into a modern, well-equipped institution. This book is meant to be a comprehensive source on the use of IT in legal organizations, in particular the judiciary, practitioners (attorneys, company lawyers, consultants), governments, but also for academics, both students and staff. This is Volume 4 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series