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Working closely with government technology departments to make court decisions Available online
Tinley Nangai
Recently, a legal opinion writer at Kuensel had to issue a correction when writing about the Phajo Nidup case. According to the author, the error occurred because the copy of the judgment was not in the public domain and his selection was based on media reports.
However, he said this could be avoided if the judiciary made all its judgments public. The Civil and Criminal Procedure Code (CCPC) (Amendment) Act 2011 provides that judgments of courts should be made available in the public domain, including libraries.
More than a decade after the revision, the judiciary continues to fail to fulfil its responsibilities, even as officials say they are working hard to do so.
Why make it public?
Lawyers believe that a judgment is a final decision made by a court on a dispute or controversy, determining rights, obligations and remedies. People want to know how the case was decided and on what basis.
“Making the judgment available to the public is expected to increase judicial transparency, win public trust and confidence, and facilitate legal research for aspiring legal professionals and law students,” said lawyer Sonam Tsrelin.
People familiar with the Anti-Corruption Law of the People’s Republic of China and related laws said that the judiciary, as an important state institution, should enforce the law. “Article 21(1) of the Constitution provides that the judiciary shall uphold, preserve and administer justice impartially, independently and without fear, favour or delay in accordance with the rule of law so as to build public confidence. This is reflected in the judgment and will remove any doubts in the minds of the people,” said a lawyer.
In many countries, judgments from the local courts to the Supreme Court are publicly available. In India, the most commonly used report is the All India Report (AIR), which contains all judgments.
In the United States, the most common are Lexis Nexis and Westlaw. In Canada, they use HeinOnline. These global legal databases also contain judgments from many other jurisdictions, such as African countries.
Lawyers say some of the most closed or corrupt countries also make their verdicts public. “It acts as a check and balance on the judges,” said one of the lawyers.
A private lawyer asked the judiciary to upload the judgments on its website. Since all judgments are drafted electronically, A lawyer said that it is not difficult to publish the judgment on the judicial website.
However, it is considered logical for the judiciary to restrict access to sensitive judgments involving national security, international relations, commercial secrets or family matters.
private lawyer She added that publishing the judgments would allow for uniform application of the law and proper arguments to be formed in similar cases. “It is very important for lawyers to make proper citations and seek justice. Unfortunately, we are unable to do that because we usually do not have access to the judgments,” she added.
Journalists also said that not being able to get a copy of the verdict hampers reporting, often with the risk of making mistakes. Some said they rely on litigants’ judgments to cover cases. Today, journalists request copies of judgments from media units via email, phone or in person. They said the process is time-consuming and hinders reporting.
Although Parliament has amended Section 96(A) of the CCPC (Amendment) Act, 2011, the question remains as to who is responsible for ensuring that the judiciary complies with the provisions of the Act. Receive responses to written questions Congressional Secretariat.
Judicial response
Leki Tshering, the judiciary’s media and communications focal point, said the judiciary had been planning to use technology and recognised its obligation to make judgments available to the public.
The plan could not be implemented as it would require a lot of resources. “However, work on posting the judgment online is still in progress,” he said.
The judiciary’s efforts include the launch of the Case Information System (CIS) and Case Management System (CMS) to provide a centralized platform for case records and data.
The official said the digitization of judicial services must be in line with the government’s plans and policies. “As the Government Science and Technology Department is the lead agency for technological advancement in various departments or agencies, the judiciary is working closely with it to make court judgments accessible online,” he said. “We look forward to positive results from this collaboration.”
He added that the judiciary always welcomes and assists requests from the media and the public, but will impose reasonable restrictions based on the sensitivity of the case.
Meanwhile, the judiciary is working closely with institutions like JSW Law School and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
Judiciary expects JSW Law School to upload Online judgment. Leki Tshering said: “This collaboration will benefit legal scholars and contribute to the cause of justice through research and critical analysis.”
The way forward
JSW Law School is raising funds to build Bhutan’s first AI-based legal database. One of its goals is to make court decisions available to the public. The law school intends to upload all decisions in Dzongkha and English for public use and academic research.
Sonam Tshering, deputy dean of the JSW Research Centre, said the database will contain all the country’s laws, parliamentary proceedings and publications of law schools. “For example, the keyword murder will lead one to all relevant laws, definitions and articles related to murder, etc,” he said.
The Attorney General’s Office intends to upload the judgments of all cases accepted on its website starting from the 13th Five-Year Plan.
“The Attorney General’s Office took the initiative to upload the court verdict on its website and the Anti-Corruption Commission will follow suit,” an official of the Anti-Corruption Commission said.
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