November 2018 - January 2020

Context of the project

Fostering a modern and digital administration of justice is essential to ensure a quality and effective public service. In line with this objective legislation has been adopted in Spain – the Law no. 18/2011, regulating the use of information and communication technologies in the Administration of Justice. Accordingly, strategic measures have been designed, such as the implementation of the “Digital Justice” programme (extended use of new technologies in courts and tribunals) and the “Electronic Judicial Address”, for citizens and professionals dealing with the judicial administration.

The implementation of such an ample reform strategy implies a cultural change within the organisation and of judicial or affiliated actors, to ensure a better practical implementation and ownership of the reform measures, overcoming the resistances and boosting an effective cooperation between the public administrations and all the stakeholders. It also requires the development of IT capacities aimed to improve the provision of information and data allowing for an adequate follow up of the reform measures, both in the field of jurisdictional activities as well as in the area of support for victims of crime.

Project's objectives

To put at the disposal of Spanish authorities expertise and knowledge on the European good practices and national experiences in view of accompanying the change management in the implementation of IT tools in the field of Justice in Spain. The CEPEJ will also provide practical advice to the Spanish authorities on the best ways to strengthen judicial data collection and analysis for the purpose of improving the efficiency of the judicial system as a whole and of the system of crime victims’ support in particular.

Expected outcomes

1. Improved capacity of the Spanish authorities - thanks to a higher degree of knowledge, commitment and ownership of the relevant stakeholders - to drive change management s in relation to the development and the use of cyberjustice elements, based on a good knowledge of the relevant CEPEJ tools and European good practices;
2. Improved capacity of the Ministry of Justice and other relevant judicial stakeholders to develop an information system of high quality, designed to collect statistics on jurisdictional activities in line with the relevant CEPEJ tools and European good practices;
3. Improved capacity of the Ministry of Justice and Victim Support Offices to develop an efficient IT system able to collect pertinent data and monitor the activities in this field, based on a good knowledge of the relevant CEPEJ tools and European good practices.

Main activities

Focus groups to identify the mains challenges in the implementation of IT tools in Spain (conducted through the use of an innovative methodology such as design thinking).

Workshops and exchange of views with selected stakeholders with a view to actively involving the main actors in the process of change management and the development/implementation of IT tools, including a new information system able to efficiently collect statistics and data on jurisdictional activities and an IT statistical tool regarding the functioning, efficiency and quality of services to assist victims of crime.

Reporting, including key findings and recommendations based on relevant CEPEJ tools and innovative examples from other European member states, on the outlined topics: change management in the development and implementation of cyberjustice tools, evaluation of judicial efficiency and quality through automated statistical data collection and interpretation, as well as the system of monitoring of the efficiency and quality of services provided to victims of crimes.

Project beneficiaries and stakeholders

The main partner is the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Spain (the General Secretariat for the Administration of Justice and the Victim Assistance Service). The project is funded by the European Commission's Structural Reform Support Service.

Resources

 CEPEJ country profile Spain
 Translation of CEPEJ documents:
      - Time management checklist

 Translation of CCJE opinions:

• Opinion N° 6 (2004) on fair trial with a reasonable time in Spanish
• Opinion n°11 (2008) on "the quality of judicial decisions" in Spanish
• Opinion n°14 (2011) on justice and information technologies (IT) in Spanish
• Opinion n°17 (2014) on the evaluation of judges’ work, the quality of justice and respect for judicial independence in Spanish

Contact

Leonid Antohi, Project coordinator
  [email protected]
 +33 (0)3 90 21 49 65