Court Management
Effectively Managing Online Hearing, Appearance and Trial in a Virtual Court
What a virtual court platform needs to run online hearings, appearances and trials without disrupting court proceedings.
In light of the global lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak, it has become essential to use online collaboration systems in place of traditional in-person discovery and courtroom appearances, to avoid major disruptions in court proceedings.
Remote case management and virtual hearings, with their associated online proceedings, can help parties meet the deadlines set for document submissions and appearances in court.
Essentials for a virtual court
For a virtual court platform to conduct online hearings and appearances effectively, it needs:
- A case management system that works seamlessly with a collaboration system, to facilitate and schedule virtual appearances, hearings and trials with parties.
- Documents specific to each virtual hearing made available to the respective case parties by the court at the start of the hearing.
- Mid-hearing and post-hearing filings allowed for the parties, where needed.
- Transcripts of the hearing generated for judges to sign off after the proceeding, which today's technology makes possible.
Even though trials involving multiple people may seem difficult, they can be handled with the right, mature collaboration platform. It is time for courts to put the right legislation in place to enable virtual appearances, hearings and trials, and so reduce case processing time.
