Supreme Court's eCommittee Calls For Suggestions And Inputs On Draft Vision Document For 3rd Phase Of Its eCourts Project

The Supreme Court of India has on Saturday released the draft vision document prepared for Phase III of the eCourts Project which is a mission mode project undertaken by the Department of Justice, Government of India. The feedbacks, inputs and suggestions can be sent to the ecommittee email id within 2 weeks

The Apex Court's ecommittee through its press release has notified that the document is hosted on the ecommittee website and has requested all the stakeholders including Advocates, Litigants, common citizens, Law students, technical experts to come forward to and give valuable inputs suggestions and feedbacks as their knowledge, insight, concerns, and experience will help refine the vision document and plan its implementation.

Supreme Court's Justice DY Chandrachud, who is also the Chairperson of eCommittee, today addressed various stakeholders, including all chief justices of the High courts, Legal luminaries, Law schools, IT experts, and welcomed their inputs, suggestions and comments on the Draft Vision documents.

Justice Chandrachud's letter has stated that the eCommittee has been overseeing the implementation of the eCourts Project, conceptualized under the "National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary-2005". The eCommittee has evolved in terms of its roles and responsibilities over the last fifteen years.

The letter has stated that a solid foundation for the objectives of the eCommittee has been substantially achieved in the first two phases of the Project, and as Phase-II will soon conclude, the Committee has initiated steps for preparing a vision document for Phase-III.

"Phase III of the eCourts Project in India is rooted in two central facets—access and inclusion. Phase III of the eCourts Project envisions a judicial system that is more easily accessible irrespective of geographical distances, efficient and equitable for every individual who seeks justice, makes more efficient use of human and other resources, and absorbs the latest technology for a positive environmental impact." Justice Chandrachud's letter reads.

According to the letter, the successful operationalization of the goals of Phase III will require careful planning around sequencing, budgeting, procurement, contract management, adoption and change management, and a robust monitoring and evaluation framework, and the Draft Vision Document provides the blueprint for such operationalization.

This vision for Phase III, is sought to be built on the four building blocks, including core values, Whole-of-system approach, Adoption frameworks and governance framework.

According to the letter, Phase III must strive for a modern judicial system, governed by core values of trust, empathy, sustainability and transparency which, while simplifying procedures, will maximise the positives of technology and minimise its risks and challenges.

Further, Phase III will aim to make processes more efficient across all three components of dispute management i.e. dispute avoidance, containment and resolution. It must focus on building strong adoption frameworks including behavioural nudges, adequate training and skill set development along with the requisite mandate of law.

From a governance perspective, Phase III will address the accompanying administrative structures. The key goals and strategy of Phase III prioritise the creation of a core digital infrastructure that can enable the development of services for dispute resolution by the judiciary and services of solutions for dispute containment and resolution by the ecosystem.

The press note has also stated that the eCommittee's objectives include Interlinking of all courts across the country, ICT enablement of the Indian judicial system, enabling courts to enhance judicial productivity, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

The eCommittee further aims to make the justice delivery system accessible, cost-effective, transparent and accountable and to provide citizen-centric services.