The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for the digitalization of the judiciary, Justice Minister Bojan Marichikj told the fifth international conference on the judiciary focusing on court activities amid the pandemic, the Ministry of Justice said in a press release Thursday.

According to Marichikj, despite numerous issues that arose following the announcement of the concept for digitalization of the judiciary, the Justice Ministry will in the upcoming period pay special attention to the process.

“When I took the office of Justice Minister, I said that digitalization of court activities is inevitable, not just so we can keep up with trends, but to ensure the efficiency and transparency of court proceedings and facilitate citizens’ access to justice, thus building trust in the system. All this requires legal changes, technical preconditions, finances, and of course – willingness of the justice system to take this technological leap,” Marichikj stressed.

According to the Minister, now is the right time to intensify the process and keep up with developed European countries.

“We’re taking timely action, as proven by the fact that the European Commission on December 2, 2020, adopted the Communication on Digitalization of justice in the European Union, which aims to ensure that the judiciary will keep up with the digital era. Stakeholders are working at EU level on developing a new tool for digitalization of justice, which encompasses legal, financial and IT activities that will support the digital transition of each member state,” Minister Marichikj told the conference.