Digital Transformation and New Technologies: Lessons Learned from Indonesia

Maria Fransiska Walintukan is a Judge of State Administrative Court and currently serves as Judicial Judge for the Law and Public Relations Bureau at The Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia.

______________________________

Judicial proceedings are often costly and time- and energy- consuming. The geographical situation of Indonesia as the largest archipelagic country in the world with a population of 278 million people certainly also plays a role and affects people’s access to justice. Moreover, the number of cases to be dealt with are disproportionately high in relation to the number of court officials, thus causing public dissatisfaction with the court services and deterring people from seeking them. Should these conditions persist, there will be injustice as “justice delayed is justice denied”.

To address these obstacles and challenges, the Supreme Court of Indonesia since 2004 has been implementing technology-based solutions to promote a modern, digital-based judiciary that responds to the demands and needs of the community in the era of fast-paced digitalization and digitization. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated the transformation process by demanding the prompt reduction of face-to-face meetings and physical contact. Some of the technology-based solutions put in place in the Indonesian judiciary to date include: digital filing of documents; various online legal services; online trials; the online database of court decisions; or the digital supervision and reporting system.

The use of new technologies has a great potential to promote transparency and accountability in the judiciary, as well as to increase effectiveness and accessibility, reduce costs of the judicial process, and, ultimately, promote the public trust in the judiciary. The use of digital application systems can also be an effective way to prevent potential corrupt practices and maladministration in the courts, and it allows the public to monitor the activities of the courts easily and openly. Yet, the use of new technologies should be carefully planned and implemented, and several lessons learned can be drawn from the Indonesian experience.  

A shift on paradigm and work culture seems to be a common early challenge in the digital transformation process. It is important to invest into awareness-raising and educational activities, both internally within the judiciary and externally towards the general public. In this regard, the strong commitment of judicial leadership determines the success of the entire process. Judicial leadership should, among others, understand the importance of carrying out the transformation process thoroughly and at all levels and sectors of the judiciary, including judicial, technical, bureaucratic, administrative, supervisory and capacity-building areas.

One initial challenge experienced in Indonesia was the limited availability of IT facilities and infrastructure, human resources and reliable internet connections in certain regions - which was very much required considering that there were over 900 courts throughout the country. Government support and commitment to ensuring the provision of internet network infrastructure is a key prerequisite to the efforts to promote digital transformation in the judiciary.

Other issues also had to be considered at the beginning of the transformation process, such as: data security; computer literacy of service users in court; and the challenges to the interpretation of the principle of “open trial to the public” and how to apply this principle for online trials.

Continued capacity-building for judges and the entire judicial apparatus in the form of training and technical guidance is key. Members of the judiciary need to keep up with the continued digital innovation within the judiciary and quickly adapt to changes. The judiciaries should take a holistic approach in terms of exploring and understanding the links between the use of technology and ethics and integrity. Without abiding by the judicial values of integrity, independence and impartiality, the use of new technologies could become useless or pose new risks. The end goal of the digital-based transformation should always be to improve the integrity, quality, and credibility of the judiciary, while respecting the principle of human rights.

Lastly, the transformation process requires building synergies and involving the community, including NGOs and academia, in monitoring and providing feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Digital transformation is a strategic step to accommodate and respond quickly to the needs of society. It has the potential to bring great benefits in terms of transparency, accountability, accessibility and legal certainty. Nevertheless, all efforts to introduce new technologies should bear in mind the importance of the fundamental judicial values, in particular judicial integrity.