President Jokowi: Technology Acceleration Becomes Entry Point to Modern Justice System

President Jokowi delivers his remarks at the Special Plenary Session of the 2020 Supreme Court Annual Report held virtually from the State Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (17/2). (Source: Presidential Secretariat YouTube account)

Acceleration in the use of technology is an entry point to a modern justice system, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said.

“I would like to remind you that accelerating the use of technology is not the final goal, accelerating the use of technology is an entry point for a broader, greater transformation in the administration of justice, to accelerate the realization of a modern justice system,” President Jokowi said at the Special Plenary Session of the 2020 Supreme Court Annual Report held virtually from the State Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (17/2).

According to the President, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the judiciary administrators to transform faster and comply with the health protocols. “The pandemic required us to work with new ways to comply with health protocols, reduce face-to-face meetings and prevent crowds,” he said.

The President stated that in realizing the judicial transformation, the Supreme Court has accelerated the use of information technology in the form of e-Court and e-Litigation applications. The use of the applications has resulted in an undisturbed process of seeking justice and maintained the quality of decisions.

“The momentum can be used to carry out a fundamental transformation in fundamental ways. Breakthroughs by judicial administrators are vital, proving that our justice system is able to adapt quickly,” the President said.

The President also invited the ranks of the Supreme Court to continuously innovate to provide faster and better services to the community through modern justice system.

The President also appreciated the implementation of the e-Court and e-Litigation applications to resolve court cases. It was recorded that the number of cases registered through e-Court in 2020 had increased by 295 percent and 8,560 cases went through trials via e-Litigation.

“The application of information technology in the judicial system at the Supreme Court has proven to significantly improve the performance of judicial administrators. The highest number of cases received in history, the highest number of cases decided in history, of course this can be done without reducing the quality of decisions,” he said.

The Head of State also expressed hope that the Supreme Court should improve the quality of technology-based justice administration. “I hope that the Supreme Court will improve the quality of the e-Court application, including the standardization of obligations of the parties, online examination of witnesses and experts, a copy of verdict (e-Verdict), as well as expansion of the e-Court application for special civil cases,” he said.

In addition, the President also encouraged the Supreme Court to realize legal certainty for those who seek justice through decisions that reduce disparity in punishment.

“With an improved performance and reputation, the Supreme Court can produce landmark decisions in exploring the values ​​and sense of justice of the community, so that the judiciary becomes an increasingly trusted institution,” he said.  (TGH/UN) (FI/LW)