Court judgements soon accessible online
LITIGANTS WHO have cases in the Administrative Courts will soon be able to ask for the judgements online or with a mobile application.
Krairat Ngeywichit, secretary-general of the Office of the Administrative Courts, said an “e-court” system was under development to improve the convenience of litigants and of the courts themselves.
The office has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) on the use of electronic-signature technology so that court verdicts or administrative orders can be made in electronic form.
Under the project, an e-court documentation system will be designed to support the use of information technology to enhance the efficiency of the Office of the Administrative Courts.
Legislation is pending to enable the use of court e-documents. After that, the office expects to begin providing judgements to litigants online within the next couple of months, and the same service should be available via a mobile application by the end of this year.
Moreover, the office ultimately plans to provide court orders, issue summonses, and submit litigation documents in digital format. It will also provide digital files to support the judgements of the courts.
Krairat said the office had focused on the development of electronic court systems to keep up with the digital age. The use of IT would speed up the management of court cases. It is another way to build credibility, faith and good public understanding of the Thai justice system, he said.
Surangkana Wayuparp, executive director of the ETDA, said the agency had conducted research to develop e-document formats based on international standards.
The Trusted e-Document Authority (TeDA) has been developed to support the creation and storage of electronic documents (e-archive and record management), covering electronic signatures and e-time stamping. This complies with the requirements of the Electronic Transaction Act.
This system can be used as a model for other government agencies wanting to shift to electronic documents reduce paper usage and facilitate the rapid and reliable provision of public services.
