Digital Justice

The project has developed entirely electronic communications (claims, pleadings, notifications and administrative files), signing, viewing and consulting documents. Likewise, it eliminated the use of paper in the proceedings and granted greater guarantees to all legal acts. The following platforms and systems have been developed:

• Procedural Management System Minerva. This supports the processing of information related to judicial proceedings and provides service to judicial bodies.
• LexNet: a secure information exchange system that enables electronic bidirectional communication between judicial offices and diverse legal operators for submission of notifications and presentation of pleadings.
• HERMES: enables electronic communications with the public health system and with the police bodies dependent on local authorities.
• Electronic Administrative File Loader System: allows the automatic inclusion of administrative files electronically sent by other public administrations.
• Electronic Judicial Office of the Spanish Ministry of Justice: provides the service of communication and notification by electronic means to citizens and legal entities.
• Electronic judicial files viewer HORUS: allows users to quickly find and consult the information from judicial and administrative electronic files.
• Electronic signature holder: provides electronic signatures.
• Other systems: provide support to all the additional needs that surround judicial proceedings, such as presenting an appeal to other judicial bodies, loading and consulting judgements published by the Judicial Documentation Centre and recording trials or other proceedings.

Main achievements of the project include the following:

• On 1 January 2016, electronic communications were implemented by bodies and judicial offices within the territorial scope of the Spanish Ministry of Justice, and the following groups: professionals of the legal services of public administrations and the social security administration, lawyers, the Attorney General, solicitors and social graduates. During 2016, more than 69 million electronic acts of procedural communications have been exchanged.
• Between 22 February and 14 December 2016, the complete processing of judicial proceedings through the Digital Justice solution was implemented in 26 judicial parties (all provincial capitals and major judicial parties). In addition, two out of three courts (717 judicial units) and 70% of cases processed within the territorial scope of the Spanish Ministry of Justice are already entirely working electronically. More than 76% of pleadings were presented electronically (1 638 277 electronic pleadings versus 510 897 submitted on paper); 6 274 730 documents were electronically signed; 998 264 documents, 561 280 proceedings and 5082 hearings were consulted through the electronic judicial files viewer, and 1 568 255 documents and 28 873 proceedings were downloaded.
• On 1 January 2017, electronic communications were extended to the rest of public administrations and bodies related to Justice Administration, such as the State Security Forces and bodies, public and private health centres, police corps dependent on local authorities, penitentiary institutions, universities, citizenship and legal entities.
• From 1 January to 26 April 2017, more than 27 500 000 electronic communications were submitted.
• With the implementation of the electronic management of judicial proceedings the public service provided by the Justice Administration has been improved, adapting itself to Law 18/2011 of 5 July, regulating the use of Information and Communication Technologies in the Justice Administration, and achieving strategic objectives such as a more accessible, transparent, agile and better interconnected Justice.