Justice – Photo © Yanchenko – Fotolia
(BRUSSELS) – The EU Parliament and Council reached provisional agreement Wednesday on two EU laws that will digitalise the EU justice systems and make them more accessible and effective.
“Thanks to digital technologies, courts can work more effectively and cooperate across borders,” said Swedish justice minister Gunnar Strömmer, for the EU presidency: “The agreement reached today will improve access to justice for citizens and businesses, as well as facilitate the fight against crime.”
Currently, digital means are not always used for communication between authorities in cross-border civil, commercial and criminal cases. The reason for this is a lack of secure and reliable digital communication channels or the non-recognition of electronic documents, signatures and seals.
In addition, in case of ‘force majeure’ events such as the COVID-19 pandemic the normal functioning of member states’ justice systems may also be affected. The continued functioning of the courts in such situations will require a digital tool with satisfactory security and fundamental rights standards.
The new rules will make the cross-border judicial cooperation in the EU more efficient and resilient. Responsible national authorities will be obliged to use electronic means of communication, with certain well-defined exceptions. This will allow individuals and businesses to communicate with courts and other judicial authorities electronically.
In addition, the new rules will enable oral hearings to be held remotely through videoconferencing, in both civil and criminal cases. The legislation will also ensure that there are no legal obstacles to the transfer requests, documents and data by digital means between the judicial authorities of different Member States.
The agreement will now have to be endorsed by member states representatives before its adoption by both the Council and the European Parliament.
