The path to E-judiciary: where does Sri Lanka stand?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34117/bjdv10n3-082Keywords:
E-Judiciary, E-Governance, digitalization, technology, justice systemAbstract
The judiciary renders justice to the people of the country and timely justice is one of the hallmarks of a democratic society. The notion of the E-Judiciary is rooted in this necessity to deliver prompt justice through adapting to the digitalization of the legal arena. The task of strengthening E-Judiciary in Sri Lanka is a sub-target in Sri Lanka’s wider goal in adopting e-governance. The objective of the e-governance strategy of Sri Lanka is to harness ICTs towards achieving socio-economic development in the country. As a part of this strategy, e-judiciary is aimed at increasing proficiency, productivity and transparency while reducing red tape and corruption within the judicial system. The process of digitization within the judiciary includes digitization of court records, e-filing of cases, virtual hearings, and live streaming of court proceedings. The Sri Lankan judiciary started using technology in their daily proceedings mainly during the Covid-19 pandemic era. Although the country has been progressive in some of the above tasks, there are several key areas that require further action and attention. Moreover, there are many other socio-economic obstacles that hinder the establishment of e-judiciary in Sri Lanka including, low IT literacy, language barriers, lack of public trust, lack of finance, lack of information and resistance to change. This paper is aimed at discussing the current status of e-judiciary in Sri Lanka. The methodology used in the paper is a qualitative approach based on doctrinal research and journal articles, research publications, e-books, online reports and websites have been used and analyzed to complete the research. The paper at its beginning discusses the concept of e-judiciary and what the country has done so far to adopt e-judiciary. The paper then analyzes the potential of strengthening the e-judiciary in Sri Lanka by making references to the system of e-judiciary in India. The paper examines the challenges in adopting e-judiciary in Sri Lanka and gives recommendations to overcome such. In conclusion, this paper suggests that Sri Lanka can adopt a more progressive and productive e-judiciary by investing additional time, resources, and research on this aspect.
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