Digitalisation of Legal Process
Professor Linda Mulcahy has recently been funded by the Borrin Foundation to give a series of talks in New Zealand about her work on courthouse design and the digitalisation of justice systems.
Her schedule included a public lecture at Victoria University Wellington which was co-hosted by the Schools of Law and Architecture and discussions with the Court Design Committee Ministry of Justice officials responsible for digitalisation. The highlight of the tour was a seminar held with Judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court about the benefits and pitfalls of digitalisation. Reflecting on the lecture tour, her host Justice David Goddard said:
The judiciary in Aotearoa New Zealand are currently developing a Digital Strategy for Courts and Tribunals, and working with the Ministry of Justice on a major digitalisation initiative. I was aware of Professor Mulcahy’s research and scholarship in this field, and reached out to her to discuss our draft strategy. Those very fruitful discussions led to the invitation to Professor Mulcahy to visit New Zealand, to speak to a wider audience about those issues, and also about court building design. The tour was a great success: Professor Mulcahy shared insights from her work with a number of audiences, including the senior judiciary, and made a significant contribution to our work towards adopting digital technology to improve the operation of the courts and enhance access to justice. We are very grateful to Professor Mulcahy for taking the time to travel to New Zealand, and for her very engaging and illuminating seminars and lectures. We hope to continue the conversation at a distance (using digital technology!), and to welcome her back in person in the near future.
It is hoped that this is the first of a series of collaborations bringing academics and practitioners together in an attempt to evaluate what lessons we can learn from the various digitalisation projects now taking place in justice systems across the world. For further information about the work of the Borrin Foundation.