ICT's in the Chilean and Latin-American civil justice. Analysis from the right of access to justice

Abstract

The incorporation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the justice sector is not necessarily a new phenomenon. Nevertheless, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated this process, as it required rapid solutions to mitigate the effects of social distancing and other security measures, for which ICTs proved crucial to ensure the continued provision of basic legal services. Initially used only for urgent matters, after two years it has become highly integrated into the regular functions of judicial institutions and is expected to continue as a critical tool against overburdened dockets. ICTs in the justice system can serve different purposes and can therefore be analyzed from different perspectives: efficiency in the administration of justice, interoperability between institutional actors, improvement of information for decision-makers, transparency and accountability, among others. This article focuses on access to justice. Therefore, it analyzes the ICTs implemented in Latin American countries, with a focus on the Chilean judiciary – particularly in the civil justice system – from a critical point of view, based on access to justice standards.