Technology Would Be Used In Europe To Broaden Access To Justice

Access to justice can be broadened if we use information and communication technology (ICT). For example use of online dispute resolution (ODR) and e-courts can greatly enhance the access to justice to a vast majority of population that is still not being able to get the same.

Further, open source software can come as a handy tool for establishing these technology driven platforms for ODR and e-courts. We need not to spend a hefty amount upon proprietary software in order to establish an ODR and e-court platform. Of course, we need technical skills and e-courts skills in order to achieve this purpose.

A consortium, led by Tilburg Law School at Tilburg University has appointed Connect Internet Solutions to develop an application to help legal practitioners measure the costs and quality of their legal procedures. This would broaden access to justice. Once completed, the application will be available in 6 European languages and support those who provide online dispute resolution, including mediators and advisors. It will be particularly relevant for cross-border disputes. It’s being developed using an open source framework, based on a Linux platform.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) have been advocating use of ICT for a broader access to justice in India, especially for marginalised segment of population. Let us hope that Indian government would also undertake a good project like this.