New Technologies in International Law / Tymofeyeva, Crhák et al.

completely resolve their justice problems. 11 % are able to partially resolve them, while 31 % have an ongoing justice problem. 22 % find no resolution. 150 Article (13) of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) requires that States Parties ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others. (ratified by over 170 countries). Also, the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (G3ict) – launched in December 2006 by the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, in cooperation with the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at UN DESA support the effective access to justice for persons with disabilities Moreover, with the covid-19 effect which scaling down of justice services by justice institutions to comply with quarantines, social distancing and other public health measures and the challenge of unmet legal needs, the justice gap emerged and the situation became different. Therefore, the need for ICT/DT in courts becomes an indispensable necessity in continuing the work of judicial systems, since a low density of courts does not necessarily affect access to justice. The accessibility of judicial systems can be evaluated along three main dimensions: informational, geographical, and financial. While the development of DT/ICT has weakened the access constraints related to the first two dimensions. 151 Nevertheless, effective access to justice requires getting correct and sufficient information “accessibility”. ICT enables citizens, regardless of their home residence and distance from the court, to lodge a legal procedure and follow the proceedings initiated. It can lower the costs, time, and travel necessary for participating in face-to-face legal proceedings and also having online files can be stored with backups and ensure paper files cannot be lost, manipulated, or ruined without a trace. However, it could not, in any event, justify the abolition of courts. Overall, Legal and judicial issues go to the heart of people’s social, economic, and physical well-being. Therefore, the use of ICT for a better understanding of people’s civil legal needs and their experiences accessing justice is considered as a vital matter for designing policies that foster economic development and inclusive growth according to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this part, the paper handles the effect of DT/ICT on the access to justice in civil and commercial courts, then Administrative courts and criminal courts. This covers about 40 countries between the period 2016 and 2018 by over-viewing the incoming cases as an indicator of access to justice. 152

150 Kanan D, ‘Use of digital technologies in judicial reform and access to justice cooperation’ ( HiiL , 2021), (HiiL, 2021) . 151 OECD, ‘Judicial performance and its determinants: a cross-country perspective, A GOING FOR GROWTH REPORT No. 05’ (2013) . 152 See, .

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