Part I of this work focuses on the ways in which digitization projects
can affect fundamental justice principles. It examines claims that
technology will improve justice system efficiency and offers a model for
evaluating e-justice systems that incorporates a broader range of
justice system values. The emphasis is on the complicated relationship
between privacy and transparency in making court records and decisions
available online.
Part II examines the implementation of technologies in the justice
system and the challenges it comes with, focusing on four different
technologies: online court information systems, e-filing,
videoconferencing, and tablets for presentation and review of evidence
by jurors. The authors share a measuring enthusiasm for technological
advances in the courts, emphasizing that these technologies should be
implemented with care to ensure the best possible outcome for access to
a fair and effective justice system.
Finally, Part III adopts the standpoints of sociology, political theory
and legal theory to explore the complex web of values, norms, and
practices that support our systems of justice, the reasons for their
well-established resistance to change, and the avenues and prospects of
eAccess. The chapters in this section provide a unique and valuable
framework for thinking with the required sophistication about legal
change.
