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It is with great pleasure and honour that I welcome again this year the Symposium of the Procedural Law Unit of the Law School of the University of Nicosia. This is the third annual symposium and I am particularly pleased that it has now evolved into an institution that contributes to the promotion of the field of procedural law, but also of Cypriot jurisprudence in general. As every year, the agenda and the participation of important personalities of legal science from Cyprus and abroad confirm the high level of the Symposium.
The theme of this year's Symposium is: "The Court of Justice in the 21st century: Personnel and Equipment". The rapidly changing century in which we live, where technological developments and radical changes are constantly reshaping our daily lives, requires all institutions to adapt to the challenges and opportunities offered by this new digital era.
In this context of digitalization, the Courts must exploit the technological possibilities to reduce delays, enhance transparency and generally improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the judicial system. They must adapt to technological advances and ensure access to justice for all through the implementation of modern case management systems to streamline procedures and create secure and better channels of communication between the parties involved.
It is known that the Cypriot courts for many years faced several problems that made the judicial system incompatible with the requirements of the 21st century. In 2015-2016, the Supreme Court, through the Judicial Reform Committee - in cooperation with the Cyprus Bar Association, the Ministries of Finance and Justice and Public Order, foreign experts, and other bodies - launched a serious effort to reform and prevent a possible collapse of the system. Their key recommendations included the introduction of modern technologies in the courts, the provision of the necessary electronic resources to judges, the introduction of new regulations and practices that would allow for a more efficient conduct of judicial proceedings, the introduction of an electronic computerization system for the electronic conduct of all court proceedings, and the introduction of a system of audio recording of proceedings.
These recommendations gradually began to be implemented and marked the gradual transition of the Cypriot judiciary to a more efficient judicial process. Today's Symposium could not be more timely, as from next Monday, 18 December, the implementation of the long-awaited by the legal world e-justice information system e-justice will be launched, which will allow the electronic registration of documents at all stages of judicial proceedings and will facilitate judges, registrars and lawyers.
This long-awaited development, combined with the new rules of civil procedure implemented from September 2023, now places our country in a new era of substantial reform of the justice system with the ultimate goal of swift administration of justice.
The e-justice system was first launched in July 2021 with the interim i-justice system and is now being completed with the transfer to the e-justice system. The pandemic was one of the factors that facilitated the launch of this system, as its implementation was essential for the continued smooth administration of justice. This entry of technology into the justice system was designed with the primary objective of simplifying previously time-consuming and bureaucratic procedures. We should note that, in 2025, digital audio recording of court proceedings (Digital Audio Recording) is expected to be implemented as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which will further contribute to the digital reconfiguration of the courts.
However, we should be particularly careful with the integration of new technologies into the justice system, especially with regard to confidentiality, privacy and cybersecurity issues. We must put in place strong safeguards to ensure the protection of personal data and gain public confidence in the judicial process. It therefore requires the implementation of strict cybersecurity standards, continuous monitoring for potential risks, threats and system vulnerabilities, cybersecurity training for judicial staff, and the development of protocols for data recovery in cases of cyber-attacks.
Finally, I would like to stress that under no circumstances should the integration of new technologies into our judicial system displace the administrative and clerical staff of courts and law firms. These individuals are the backbone of the proper administration of justice and the entire judicial edifice. Therefore, it is important to invest in the continuous technological education and training of all court officials and to ensure the synergy of human resources and new technologies.
In conclusion, I am confident that the dialogue and the analysis that will follow will allow us to draw important conclusions on the effectiveness of the current framework and the need for further upgrading of the judiciary in Cyprus to fully comply with the requirements of the 21st century. I would like to thank once again the organisers for the honourable invitation to deliver this short address. As Commissioner for Law, I am always at the disposal of the University of Nicosia to produce work for the promotion and development of Cyprus Law and to strengthen the Memorandum of Understanding between us.
I wish every success in the proceedings of today's Symposium.
Thank you for your attention.
(ΕΠ/ΓΣ)
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