On Wednesday, June 30, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns met with experts from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to discuss the introduction of various technological innovations that would promote access to justice.
During the meeting, the launch of a new co-operation project was discussed - within two years it is planned to expand the availability of court services by developing a new conceptual solution for effective online dispute resolution and implementing it in practice in the Latvian court system.
J. Bordāns: “The time of the pandemic and the work of the courts in the circumstances created by it proved that the Latvian justice system is ready to provide the necessary legal services to the society. The digitization of the field of justice implemented so far and the introduction of modern technologies in the organization of court work has been nothing but an effective contribution to the development of the Latvian justice system; therefore, now, the next step in the modernization of courts is being taken.”
“Thanks to the joint work of Latvia and the OECD, the new solution will facilitate access to justice, that is, dispute resolution in Latvia will become simpler and faster, and the costs of these services for citizens will be significantly reduced,” the Minister of Justice emphasizes.
During the implementation of the project, it is planned to determine the types of disputes that can be resolved using the new technological solutions. Initially, the new solution is intended to be used to resolve commercial disputes, as well as to provide support to vulnerable groups. The cooperation project is planned to be completed in June 2023, but its main coordinator in Latvia will be the Court Administration. The project will use the European Commission funding.