UPDATE: Project details updated during the EPSA 2025-26 edition.
Second prize winner in category Digital Transformation in EPSA 2023-24
Context
The General Directorate for Digital Transformation of the Administration of Justice introduced the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) project as a response to the increasing backlog of files and requests that were accumulating in the Ministry of Justice. Due to a variety of factors, including increased migration in Spain, the Ministry was struggling with an overwhelming workload and failing to meet the legally established timelines of procedures, such as the granting of nationality by residence. Inspired by the digital agenda and aided by European funds aimed at digital transformation, the project sought to automate the basic and repetitive processes. After two-and-a-half years, the success of this initiative has led to 21 line processes being automated within the Ministry and full adoption within the Ministry’s digitalisation agenda.
Objectives
The RPA project consists of using software robots to automate workflows and repetitive processes within the Ministry of Justice. The main objective was to design systems that would facilitate the work of the civil servants and improve public service delivery to its maximum extent. They are looking for new opportunities in hyper-automation, which includes AI and machine learning. These robots follow clear and unambiguous rules and act consistently in similar situations, which improves the efficiency and quality of procedures. The implementation of RPA has made it possible to practically eliminate human errors, speed up the processing of matters and allow officials to dedicate themselves to higher value-added tasks. The robot works without the possibility of making decisions for itself, therefore it is always involved in tasks that do not impact judicial or administrative decisions. For these types of tasks, it has been shown that the software is faster and more effective, and it has led to significant time and cost savings since 2021 in the public service of the Administration of Justice. The RPA has been set up to handle the backlog of files and requests that have accumulated within the Ministry of Justice and to help streamline these processes so backlogs can be avoided in the future. The Directorate-General for Digital Transformation of the Administration of Justice is constantly in conversation with the various departments of the Ministry discussing which processes can be further automated.
Implementation
The RPA is achieving unprecedented success in the Ministry of Justice, not only providing benefits in terms of efficiency and process improvement, but also emphasising the importance of sustainability and energy efficiency.
To implement these digital solutions, the ICT department has to thoroughly familiarise itself with the internal processes of its departmental counterparts to adapt the software to their needs. For this, they created the Automation Excellence Centre, where the people involved can design and improve processes until they can ensure a zero margin of error. This high performance standard is set because of the sensitive nature of the documentation handled by the Ministry. The teams meet on a weekly basis to discuss performance and find solutions to any given issues. The system currently supports 25 000 internal users and 30 000 external users.
One of the most important challenges for the RPA lies in the intricacies of the legal processes and the sensitive nature of the information that is processed. However, the RPA has proved to be able to take over simple tasks without compromising sensitive information or impacting the subsequent judicial or administrative decisions. Its successful application to 21 lines of administrative processes have increased confidence its usefulness and ensured its continuous use within the Ministry.
Some notable examples of the benefits of RPA include the saving of more than 340 000 hours of work per year for processing staff in the granting of nationality, as well as the cancellation of criminal records of more than 400 000 people with all the social benefits that entails.
Developments
Notable progress has been made with the implementation of more than 30 automation lines. Thanks to more than 11 million robotic processes, it is estimated to save more than 975 000 hours of work, allowing staff to focus on more complex and more impactful tasks.
Among the most outstanding achievements, it is essential to highlight that nationality files, which previously could take up to five years to resolve, are now managed in less than six months, thanks to the realisation of more than 4.5 million processes by robots.
The management of the system of Deposit Accounts and Judicial Appropriations (Cuentas de Depósitos y Consignaciones Judiciales – CDCJ) has been significantly optimised, achieving more than 4.3 million receipts from automated operations. These transactions include alimony, compensation, and fines, facilitating their arrival on time and alleviating the workload in the courts.
The automation of order for payment procedures provides an efficient mechanism for the rapid recovery of outstanding and duly justified debts, and contributes to the discharge of work in the judicial bodies. Since 2024, efforts in the application of robotisation have focused on this type of procedure, the most numerous in the civil jurisdiction, which represent up to 60% of the cases admitted. Consequently, a paradigm shift is being established based on a greater orientation to data that allows a gain of effectiveness and efficiency in the tasks of registration, distribution, and processing of orders for payment. The results are very positive, highlighting as an impact event the realisation of more than 500 procedural steps automatically in just two days in a court of first instance, speeding up progress in proceedings.
Robotisation is also being applied in air passenger claims. The project speeds up the processing of these claims by downloading tasks to judicial staff and implementing a specific form in the Electronic Judicial Headquarters for the telematic presentation of claims. This reduces workload and improves case resolution efficiency.
Long-term impact
Robotisation in justice is a long-term sustainable innovation. Its maintenance is based on the continuous updating of robots and the improvement of automated processes. The saving of time and resources, together with the reduction of human errors, guarantees its economic and operational viability.
RPA has been a success and contributes very effectively to greater efficiency and better use of public resources, but also contributes to humanising Justice, placing citizens in the centre that feels closest to them and therefore reverts to improving the quality of the public service offered.
The RPA project in the field of justice has achieved impressive results in terms of efficiency and process improvement. With more than 14 960 000 operations carried out since its implementation in 2020, it is estimated that there will be time savings of more than 1 136 000 working hours for civil servants and economic savings of EUR 16 044 430. This impact has led to the implementation of an Automation Excellence Centre to promote the automation of processes in all areas of the administration of justice and its derivatives.
Adjustment in the objectives
The implementation of the project has been carried out progressively, starting with pilots. The deployment strategy has included staff training, process adaptation, and integration with existing systems. Among the challenges overcome are resistance to change, the need to ensure legal certainty in automated processes, and interoperability between systems. Inter-institutional collaboration has been key.
In addition, a further step has been taken in the use of emerging technologies with the application of hyperautomation, which allows the automation of any process using a combination of RPA and other advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence. This technology is a key part and, since 2024, it is being applied in the registration and distribution procedures of civil orders for payment processes. Hyperautomation considerably speeds up quantity claims. Since its launch in 2023, nearly 200 000 operations have been carried out moving more than EUR 262 million. This has resulted in savings of more than 85 144 hours for processing staff who have been able to devote to other tasks and an economic saving of EUR 1 234 604 to the administration.