E-notification system to streamline judicial procedures — Talhouni

AMMAN — In a bid to further speed up proceedings in the Kingdom’s courts, Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni on Saturday said that a new electronic notification system for judicial action will be launched in mid-September to help lawyers remain up-to-date about their cases. 

“These latest electronic applications and services are built to streamline judicial procedures for citizens and ensure better access to justice,” Talhouni told The Jordan Times.

The justice minister added that courts and judges were instructed to begin notifying lawyers about their cases via e-mail and text message.

“We want to ensure that lawyers are being notified about their cases, and now we have the technology to ensure that they actually received these notifications,” Talhouni explained.

The minister added that all lawyers were instructed to update their contact information, including mobile phone number, e-mail address and current home address.

The new step is in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Law and its amendments, which stipulate that the prosecutor general or the court has the right to use modern technologies to conduct investigations and trials without affecting the right of discussion.

Talhouni added that the ministry is always seeking ways to improve judiciary procedures, noting that it has archived millions of documents and re-engineered procedures so as to help conflicted parties, lawyers and judges save time.

Furthermore, the ministry has introduced dozens of e-services in recent months and years to ease burdens on the judiciary branch, lawyers and citizens.

One of the recent e-services provided by the ministry is an online portal that allows lawyers to register cases and pay registration fees online.

Another recent service allows citizens to apply online to receive a certificate of no criminal record, a process that will spare some 300,000 citizens annually from visiting government institutions to obtain this certificate.

Another e-service that was introduced in 2016 is a smart phone application that notifies users of any cases brought against them and allows them to follow up on ongoing cases in court.

Information provided to users by the application includes the name of the judge, case number, court, date of trial and other relevant information.