The State would spend $48 million on JusticeLink, a “groundbreaking computer system” that would include live procedural hearings on the internet, to be rolled out in 2009.
Prosecutors and defence lawyers would have the ability to log into a bulletin board, where they would type their arguments. The judge will be alerted to the posts by email, and log in and make determinations in real time.
“While the time-honoured traditions of our legal system will remain intact, JusticeLink will streamline the process, saving millions of dollars in costs and countless hours spent in the courtroom,” Mr Hatzistergos said.
JusticeLink has been already successfully trialed in the NSW Supreme Court and will be rolled out to the District Court this month. Within 12 months, the computer system is expected to be operating in every criminal and civil court in NSW, including 160 Local Courts, the Attorney-General said.
“JusticeLink is the first multi-jurisdictional court computer system in the world,” said Mr Hatzistergos.
Mr Hatzistergos said JusticeLink will also be used by law firms to “e-file” motions and evidence, enabling all the parties to proceedings to pull up information at the touch of a button. So far, nine law firms are using e-filing and have uploaded 11,500 documents.
“Document trolleys and ring binders will be replaced by laptops and CDs as thousands of pages will now be stored as soft copies,” he said.
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