Attorney General George L. Savvides has underscored the need for training on digital justice tools.
He was addressing the 'European judicial training: Creating a supportive environment for digital justice@2030' event organised in Nicosia by the European Commission under the auspices of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, in cooperation with the Cyprus Judicial Training School on 26 February.
“Digitalisation is a notion that appears all the more frequently in policies and governance and has thus naturally entered the field of justice. Justice, by definition, is a pillar of society – a society that has started to develop in parallel in a physical and a digital world,” Savvides pointed out. “One can hardly think of a task or action that cannot be carried out by the use of electronic and digital means. For these reasons, the objectives of better understanding and use of digital procedures have evolved into political priorities, at national and European level,” he added.
“As the Commission’s European Judicial Training Strategy rightly points out, digital training for all professionals involved in the justice sector pertains to both digital literacy in terms of procedures as well as understanding substantive law applicable to the digital economy and society,” the Attorney General noted.
“From our viewpoint, as the Law Office of the Republic, we have noticed an important increase in cases related to digital activities, which highlights the need for further training of our staff in the substantive law, particularly in terms of criminal acts that may be committed with the use of technology”, Savvides said.
He added that “as prosecutors we have also increasingly made use of digital tools available in procedures, particularly for the protection of victims, including allowing witnesses to give statements through teleconference.’ ‘Undoubtedly, the quality and expeditiousness of justice can be improved through the use of such tools, on every level,” he continued.
The Attorney General also pointed out that “developments at European Union level have created a multifaceted legislative framework that regulates various aspects of digital life including the Digital Markets and Digital Services Acts, the Data Act and Terrorist Content Online Regulation.”
He further noted that “Regulation 2023/2844, known as the ‘Data Act’, on the digitalisation of judicial cooperation and access to justice in cross-border civil, commercial and criminal matters, has brought about a notable reform in the field of communication between competent authorities in the field of justice, including the decentralised IT system and the European Electronic Access Point.”
Consequently, he went on to say, “a fundamental need towards the objective of proper use of such tools and the application of the new rules that are constantly put in place, is adequate and innovative training, the exchange of ideas and best practices, including between authorities in various Member States of the European Union.”
“The Law Office, a central actor in the field of administration of justice by Constitutional provision, puts particular emphasis on lifelong training of its members so that they remain informed and apt to respond to the ever-expanding demands of their duties,” Savvides noted. In this respect, he added, the Academy of the Law Office of the Republic frequently organises training activities that also relate to questions of digitalisation of justice, and in line with the Commission’s priorities, will give particular emphasis on these new developments in the activities scheduled for the near future.
“In an era of fast digital development and technological advancement, the field of justice evolves in tandem with the rest of the world,” the Attorney General said. “The rights of citizens and the public interest compel courts, prosecutors and the entirety of the system of administration of justice to modernise itself and adapt to challenges, both in respect to procedures, available tools as well as a whole new field of law relating to digital activities”, he concluded.
(Source: CNA)
