On 1 July, amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, the Civil Procedure Act and the Bankruptcy Code will take effect, aiming to make communications in the legal system technically neutral and to create the conditions for more use of technical solutions in the judicial process.

The Judicial Administration is charged with the following matters: the administration of the rules on the use of electronic/digital procedures, including the form and delivery of court documents and electronic confirmations. The Judicial Administration is charged with the instructions on the rules on teleconferences.

The District Court is currently working with the courts and institutions of the justice system to develop and implement a so-called legal protection portal, which is managed by the Ministry of Justice. The legal protection portal is intended to connect the courts and all institutions of the justice system and ensure electronic/digital flow of data and information between them, as well as being a means of communication with external parties such as lawyers. The legal protection portal will be implemented in stages. Until it is fully implemented, the courts’ web portals will continue to be in use and documents will be submitted on paper.

Form and method of delivery of documents

When the Act enters into force, digital/electronic procedures, carried out on the basis of the Act on the Procedure of Civil Cases and the Act on the Procedure of Criminal Cases, will be equivalent to paper procedures. Therefore, the law no longer prescribes that procedures should be carried out on paper. The Administration of Justice is charged with regulating the form and delivery methods of documents in court cases and deciding in which cases documents will be delivered only electronically. The steps that will be taken in this regard will inevitably depend on the progress of the Ministry of Justice’s project on developing a legal protection portal and its implementation in courts and institutions of the legal protection system. The legal protection portal has already been implemented in cases for police and prosecution requests. From 1 July, all documents in those cases shall be sent to the district courts and the National Court in electronic form only through the legal protection portal. The aim is that by the beginning of 2025 the same applies to all criminal cases brought before the district courts.

The further development and implementation of the legal protection portal will continue with the aim of sending documents to the courts via the legal protection portal in electronic form in all areas of law and at all judicial levels. In areas of law that are not covered by the legal protection portal, documents can still be submitted electronically but they will be obligatory to be submitted in paper form.

Electronic confirmation

The law now stipulates that electronic confirmation meets the requirement for endorsement, signature, confirmation or certification. The Courts are charged with regulating electronic confirmation. The rules will thus provide for what constitutes an adequate electronic confirmation.

Use of teleconferencing devices

The law has made the authorization to use teleconferencing devices permanent. A judge may, under the law, authorize, subject to certain conditions, participation in parliamentary proceedings through teleconferencing devices. The Courts are charged with establishing guidelines for teleconferencing. In these guidelines, the authorization will be discussed in more detail.