Virtual Justice: Quebec City to Implement ‘Fully Digital Municipal Court’

The City of Quebec is moving forward with plans to implement a fully digital municipal court.

This three-year partnership agreement will allow the City of Québec to benefit from the Cyberjustice Laboratory of Université de Montréal’s research infrastructure and the expertise of its researchers in order to optimize the case management of files of the municipal court.

“This partnership is an important step in the realisation of a digital court for the City of Québec,” said Patrick Voyer, Member of the Executive Committee on Information Technologies. “The expertise developed by the Laboratory will offer us concrete support to integrate technologies within the judicial process in order to improve its activities and access to justice for all citizens.”

The agreement with the City of Québec Municipal Court is the latest of a number of partnership agreements that the Cyberjustice has signed, in particular with Quebec’s Ministry of Justice, the French Ministry of Justice, the World Bank and the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of France.

“These collaborations make it possible for us to reach more stakeholders and thus improve access to justice,” said Professor Karim Benyekhlef, Executive Director of the Cyberjustice Laborator.

The integration of technology at the municipal court offers advantages, such as electronic case management and access to online services for citizens and the legal community. Furthermore, a digital court means a decrease in travel, processing times, of non-value added tasks (such as repairs, printing, case filing, double entry), and operating costs (printing, postage, etc.).

In Quebec City the concept of smart city means the implementation of information infrastructure that will improve quality of life for citizens, service offer and management of the city. The digital court project offers important benefits for citizens: a better understanding of the judicial process and an improved access to justice.