The member states are putting the finishing touches to the online justice action plan for the period 2019-2023, as the 2014-2018 action plan expires in December.
In May of this year, the trio of Presidencies of the Council of the EU - Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria - announced their intentions of focusing on the most promising projects, with particular emphasis on the use of innovative technologies, particularly artificial intelligence.
The working group began work in October 2017. A first version, dated 17 September and of which EUROPE has had sight, has been submitted to the member states. It sets out a list of projects for consideration over this period, which were selected by experts of the member states.
As in the previous action plan, there are many projects aiming to further improve the functioning of the 'e-justice portal', a website launched by the EU in 2010 to inform European citizens of their rights and help legal professionals in their daily work.
The document suggests a number of changes to make the portal easier to use and more complete, for instance through new dynamic functions, creating an interactive query tool and improving the inter-connection between national registers. One example of the project is the 'Chatbot', to point users in the direction of the information they are looking for.
The website EUR-Lex, which provides access to EU law and Court of Justice case-law, will also be improved, for instance with the development of automatic pseudonymisation and anonymisation tools for the use of open data.
As regards secure online communication, the document foresees the development by the European Commission of an electronic payment system for court fees or to verify the status of lawyers, in cooperation with the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE).
A 'Blockchain for Justice' project is also on the list. It will aim to launch a pilot project on the creation of an authentic act stored via blockchain technology, involving the expertise of the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE).
The new action plan is to be adopted by the Council of the EU by the end of the year. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)