As it carries out remote trials, the Ministry of Justice uses an internal audiovisual system to enhance computer security and protect sensitive case information, signaling its commitment to digitization.
Rabat – Minister of Justice Mohamed Benabdelkader on Tuesday said his department is finalizing the digital transformation plan for Morocco’s judicial system. The ministry pledged to reveal the plan in the coming days.
The Ministry of Justice suspended in-person court hearings on March 16 as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19, with a few exceptions. The move inspired the department to digitize its operations and services.
In a June 2 statement to the Committee on Justice, Legislation, and Human Rights in the House of Representatives, Benabdelkader said the remote trials ongoing since April 27 represent the first stage in the digitization of the judicial system.
The remote trials launched in coordination with the Superior Council of the Judicial Power (CSPJ), the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the bar association, and the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR).
Benabdelkader stressed the need to capitalize on the experience gained from remote trials to engage in a more global project, one that is not limited to the revision of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
He said the digitization plan should encourage the emergence of a new model adapted to remote communication and artificial intelligence techniques during the various stages of the judicial service.
Services such as the request for criminal records and trial procedures should go digital, the justice minister continued, and legal professionals must have digital platforms for the communication, management, sharing, and production of information.
Benabdelkader said the Ministry of Justice adopted an internal audiovisual system to enhance computer security and protect sensitive information that circulates during trials.
All actors and stakeholders in Morocco’s judicial system have welcomed the remote trial system, he continued, adding that the switch has helped protect prisoners, prison staff, judges, and court officials from COVID-19.
In total, courts throughout Morocco have hosted 1,469 remote trial sessions, scheduled 22,268 cases, and decided 9,035 since suspending most standard hearings.
Benabdelkader concluded by celebrating the justice ministry’s procedures to curb the spread of COVID-19, especially those relating to the promotion of digital services, the department’s role in establishing the decree-law on the state of emergency, and its contribution to the national pandemic response fund.
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