By: Sayyedeh Parastoo Vakili
As humans continue to accelerate towards cutting-edge technology, it is only logical for developing countries to move towards advancing their courts’ records system. These countries need a sophisticated court recording system similar to the United States Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) or the newly implemented Electronic Filing System (EFS) in Malaysia. Common traditional practices can be bothersome and frustrating such as, judges scribbling notes of evidence in their own handwriting, court clerks having difficulty finding misplaced court records, or the amount of time wasted by attorneys and judicial personnel filing a document. While these traditional court practices are slow to change, an alternative method of an electronic e-filing record system can improve the courts’ practices and culture. Now the question becomes, how should the court system in developing countries implement an effective record e-filing system.
The answer can be found through examining recent technological advances within other developing countries such as the court system in Malaysia. The Malaysian Courts’ Electronic System, also known as the “e-filing” system or “EFS” in short, is a perfect example as to how other developing countries can improve their filing of court documents in legal proceedings. The e-filing system (EFS) was implemented in the Malaysian Kuala Lumpur Court in March of 2011, with an objective to make the court proceedings an electronic system. According to the Malaysian Judiciary website,the e-filing portal “has been designed to serve as a one-stop portal for the legal community to gain access to all its needs ranging from registration of cases, filing of case documents, retrieval of service document right down to searching of case files and information including case schedules.”
So far the e-filing system (EFS) in Malaysian Courts has been a great success with only few pitfalls. In Malaysia, the EFS is highly regarded as one of the most advantageous systems in which it provides better access of documents anytime and anywhere, it is cost and time effective, delivers notifications by email of the documents received online, improves the efficiency in case management system on a daily system, and secures filed documents. Furthermore, an e-filing system (EFS) in any developing country, can serve as the courts’ electronic platform for the filing of court documents in legal proceedings, as well as allowing the legal community to gain access to all its needs. As mentioned before, the traditional filing system is burdensome in that they are time consuming with limited resources or capabilities. However, a user-friendly digital database allows users to access the needed files faster with an option to edit or add necessary documents.
The Malaysian e-filing system (EFS) has been thoroughly tested and modified since its adoption in 2011, thus, it is a great model for other developing countries around the world to rely on. According to a recent 2013 PICMET research paper, a case study was conducted in Malaysian courts after the EFS adoption to evaluate the validity of the EFS and examine the impact on the government and the citizens as a whole. In addition to EFS, the researchers also assessed three other technological applications such as: Case Management System (CMS), Court Recording and Transcribing (CRT), and Queue Management System (QMS). These researchers concluded that although there are still some technological and operational issues in regards to this newly high-tech innovation, but there has been a great significant improvement in the court workflow management. The researchers based this conclusion on their extensive qualitative data of interviews, survey, and document analysis.
Furthermore, in a 2015 Malaysian Business Newsarticle, it was announced that due to great success of the e-filing system (EFS) in two previous Malaysian courts, the High Court Complex in Kota Baru (state capital city of the state of Kelantan in Malaysia) has upgraded their court management system with the e-filing and e-courts systems. This news article further mentioned that the adoption of the e-filing system “is part of the Federal Court of Malaysia program to streamline court operations and deliver improved efficiency and productivity for the judiciary.” Currently, the Malaysian judiciary is working closely with their technology e-filing team to expand this promising technological innovation throughout their country.
The aim in this piece is to encourage developing countries and provide different technological methods for improving their courts’ filing system. However, some critics may oppose the e-filing system (EFS) by arguing that there may be a problem with the pace of implementation due to not enough funding or that it may not be as user-friendly as it sounds. However, in regards to the user-friendliness, the Malaysian courts have provided a tutorials and a step-by-step “e-filing & e-service” user guide on topics such as: how to obtain a username and password, how to be a registered user, and who are authorized individuals to have access to this system. Additionally, pilot programs were installed to allow attorneys and courtroom personnel to experience the utility of filing documents electronically.
Unfortunately, developing countries still lack sufficient high-tech security, which places any new online technological innovations at risk of privacy; not to mention the absence of efficient payment mechanism for any filing online applications. Once the Malaysian e-filing system (EFS) was incorporated, there was an issue in regards to online payment of filing fees. The Malaysians considered opening a separate bank account for e-filing purposes; however, online payments from such accounts were not supported by most affiliated banks. Thus, since the payment mechanism for filing fees is still an issue, developing countries should take into account the payment method of implementing an electronic database for filing legal documents.
Using technology to improve the efficiency of the courts’ record system in developing countries should be the next positive step towards undue delays and backlog of court cases. The advantage of implementing an e-filing system (EFS) is that the attorneys and court personnel will be able to handle court cases and documents more efficiently and effectively. It is also beneficial and necessary to provide mandatory training for this particular electronic system for all legal attorneys and judicial staff. Furthermore, compiling court records into an electronic database would create a coherent and organized system of storing court documents, as opposed to misplacing the files. Thus, the Malaysian e-filing system should serve as a roadmap for other developing countries whom are interested in improving or implementing a digital integration within their judiciary. This promising technological innovation will not only strengthen the courts’ record system but will also benefit the judiciary staff and the members in the public.
Bio: Sayyedeh Parastoo Vakili is a Staff Member of the Journal of High Technology Law. She is currently a 2L at Suffolk Law. She holds a B.S. in Psychology and Sociology, and a M.S. in Crime and Justice Studies (MSCJS) both from Suffolk University.
