The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has supported the introduction of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System (UJITS), which has already been nicknamed "the court in a smartphone."
A total of 261 People's Deputies on Tuesday, April 27, backed the bill "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Ensuring the Phased Implementation of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System" (No. 3985), according to a UNIAN correspondent,
Read alsoSingle e-platform for foreign students' enrollment to be created in UkraineThe law provides for the start of operation of individual modules (subsystems) of the UJITS and the system's phased implementation.
The law introduces amendments to the Economic Procedure Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Code of Administrative Procedure, and the Law On the High Council of Justice.
Smartphone court bill: Details
The law streamlines the use of remote document flow in courts so citizens are able to go to court without needing to physically travel and report to the court amid quarantine restrictions.
The law provides that any party in the trial shall be allowed to take part in a court hearing via video conference, outside the courtroom using their own technical gear and electronic signature.
It is also stipulated that all court hearings shall be audio recorded. At the request of any party to the case or at the court's own initiative a court hearing may be video recorded (if this is technically possible and if no objections are filed by any parties).
All court judgments shall be delivered in written and electronic forms.
At the same time, court judgments issued in electronic form are filed with the use of the UJITS and sealed by the judge's electronic signature.
When "smartphone court" will kick off work
Separate subsystems (modules) of the UJITS shall start functioning 30 days into the publication by the High Council of Justice in the Holos Ukrayiny gazette and on the website of the judicial authority of the relevant announcement.
