E-court: Information and communication technologies for civil court management

Technology adoption is a widespread phenomenon in courts of law around the world. It supports speedy process in justice administration from case registration through case decision. It allows justice to take place virtually using the advanced technologies such as video conferencing between parties in two separate places, high-tech video presenters, business process automation/workflow management through Electronic Case Management System (ECMS), electronic filing system, court recording and transcribing, immersive virtual environment for re-creation of crime scene, forensic investigation and so on. This paper reveals a result of a case study conducted in Malaysian court environment after the adoption of E-Court project, an integrated electronic court project implemented throughout the country. This qualitative case study focuses on the four main types of applications: the Electronic Filing System (EFS), the Case Management System (CMS), Court Recording and Transcribing (CRT) and Queue Management System (QMS). Data was collected through interview, survey and document analysis, in the busiest court in the country. The result shows a significant improvement in terms of court workflow management, court information and records management and integration with other agencies. At the same time, a number of technological, operational and people issues arise out of this technology adoption.