Documents for everyone and Justice for all

Documents for everyoneand Justice for all FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE JUSTICE Monique Beuken, Commission for the Modernisation of the Judiciary (CMOJ) Phedra Clouner, Federal Public Service Justice

Plan of the presentation • Modernisation of the courts • The institutional context • An ideal player: the Commission for the Modernisation of the Judiciary • The Justscan project • Context and aim of the project • Solution adopted • Methodology • Implementation and prospects

I. Modernisation of the courts

Committee for modernisation of the judiciary I. Modernisation of the courtsa.The institutional context Minister of Justice High Council of Justice Federal Public Service Justice Judiciary

I. Modernisation of the courtsb. An ideal player: the Committee for Modernisation of the Judiciary • Area of competence: all action relating to modernisation of management of the judiciary • Mixed composition • Player in the change process • Support for judicial and administrative playersinvolved in the reform

I. Modernisation of the courtsb. An ideal player: the Committee for Modernisation of the Judiciary • Working method: • Define general objectives for modernisation • Develop / support concrete projects • Active cooperation with the other players: partnership agreements • Cooperation agreement with the Minister of Justice

I. Modernisation of the courtsb.An ideal player: the Committee for Modernisation of the Judiciary A few projects: • Analysis of allocation of the judiciary's financial resources from 1995 to 2007 • Study of the cost of court products • Assessment of the workload of judges and clerks of the court • Description of the duties of court staff • Installation of communications tools • etc.

II. Justscan... an example of active cooperationwith the ICT Department

II. Justscana. Context and aim of the project Context: The judicial case file • A case file = • Folders • Subfolders • From a few dozen pages to several hundred thousand pages • List of the main documents and information in the file (index) • Consultation of the case file or parts of the case file by the parties • All parties can request a copy of the case file • Sites located throughout Belgium

II. Justscana. Context and aim of the project Reasons for the project: • Copewithrequests for copies of large case files. • Increase the availability of case files. • Avoidwasting time due to transferring, finding or sorting case files. • Deal withstorageproblems. • Facilitatehandling of the largest or mostcomplex case files. • To preventloss or destruction of documents.

II. Justscana. Context and aim of the project Aim of the project • Convert judicial case files currently in paper format into electronic format • Provide a search tool for use by judges, court staff and the parties

II. Justscanb. Solution adopted - method of operation Case files closed after the preliminary inquiry JIOR / Court of First Instance New case files MFP: scanning + printing Circulation of judicial case files

II. Justscan b. Solution adopted - The products I.R.I.S. PDF Server I.R.I.S. Barcoder Control of sources Highly integrated Numerous references I.R.I.S. DocCenter

II. JustScan b. Solution adopted - functions • Imaging • Indexing (Manual OCR - classification scheme) • Management of versions • Search • Consultation • Distribution/publication • Printing • Management of storage and storage media • Export of case files on request on optical media • Management of access rights • Links between case files • Inventory generated automatically

II. JustScan c. Methodology Approach in stages (1) • Stage A: Study • Stage B: First pilot site • Brussels Appeal Court and Court of First Instance • Stage C: Four other pilot sites • Appeal courts and courts of first instance: Antwerp, Mons, Bruges, Liège • Scope: criminal case files, from the time of creation at the appeal court or criminal court.

II. JustScan c. Methodology Approach in stages (2) • Check whether it is appropriate to deploy this type of technology • Reduce risks • of premature design, • functions not suited to requirements • Offer users visible signs of progress • Facilitate acceptance of the system

II. JustScan c. Methodology Work groups • Determine requirements • Validate analyses • Validate mock-ups and prototypes • Tests by users • Functioning in workshops • Analysis workshops • Validation workshops

II. JustScan c. Methodology Change management • Principles of the support offered • Be present, willing to listen and participate • Provide regular progress reports on the project • Provide the training required for the new working methods • Support court employees during and after the project (organize work sessions, briefings etc.) • Support is an continuous process throughout the project

II. JustScan c. Methodology Crucial elements for success • Choice of the external partner • Strong backing from the management • Involvement of users from the start of the project • Clear and precise communication between the teams and within the teams • Expectations determined correctly • Identification of risks • Stable and dedicated project infrastructure

II. Justscand. Implementation and prospects Implementation: a concrete example • The Ghislenghien case file • 42 boxes (in French) • 42,848 pages • ± 800 parties • 150 DVD copies (as well as access to the secure extranet site) • 0 hard copies (in Mons) • = 6,427,200 sheets of paper = 12,855 reams saved

II. Justscand. Implementation and prospects Implementation • Consultation of the electronic case file by lawyers at the clerk's offices • Case file transmitted in electronic format to other authorities not yet involved • Creation of a knowledge base • Future consultation by prisoners

II. Justscand. Implementation and prospects Prospects • New sites • New requests for functions • Integration with business applications • Part of a more comprehensive plan: electronic case files accessible to all parties

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Documents for everyone and Justice for all