By Franck Alcidi -
07/09/01
After some 200 years of fundamentally unchanged methods of operation, courts have begun a remarkable transition towards
adopting new technologies. Court judicial officers, pressured by budgetary constraints in the face of increasing workloads, have witnessed the ability of
technology to help them increase efficiency, provide better access to the courts, and improve the administration of the justice system.
Having largely overcome the stigma of being labelled "the last frontier of data processing" a couple of decades
back, courts now are aggressively pursuing the application of a range of technology solutions to improve their operations. During the last few years,
traditional methods of conducting court business have been augmented, and sometimes replaced, with new sets of procedures made possible through technology.
Throughout the N.T. judicial system, attitudes toward the use of technology is shifting from scepticism and excessive
caution to endorsement and commitment. An example of this acceptance took place in a recent case involving fraud where Justice Riley agreed to view
documents electronically using [SMART Board] technology. By combining the
power of a computer with the simplicity of a whiteboard, the SMART Board is able to facilitate group
information sharing electronically, which proved beneficial for all those involved in the case.
The picture below was taken during the proceedings and shows the SMART Board
being utilised to its full potential.
The next five to ten years will see much more sweeping change in the manner in which the N.T. courts conduct their
operations. The accelerating trends will be fuelled by a combination of factors, development of more technology standards, integration or coordinated
implementation of complementary technologies, and continuous advances in the technology industry.
The technology components that are just beginning to mature today will be woven into an overall framework that permits the
N.T. courts to leap ahead into a more comprehensive electronic operation.
Next month: NT Courts new Video Conferencing facilities. |
