New litigation system for Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Nov 1, CMC – The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is implementing an Integrated Electronic Litigation (e-Litigation) system within all courts in all the nine-member Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) for the electronic management of cases.
It said that the new system, which is being implemented through the Office of the Chief Justice, replaces the Judicial Enforcement Management System.
The e-Litigation solution is a web-based application that will provide court users and stakeholders with access to assigned services anytime, anywhere, and on any device including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops.
The ECSC’s e-Litigation portal will serve as the platform to improve the delivery of justice to the citizens of the region. Importantly, it will also contribute towards increasing the transparency of court services, allowing the ECSC to improve access of its services to stakeholders.
“We needed a platform with refined features which allowed electronic filing, electronic case management, electronic notifications, payments, dockets or cause list preparation designated judicial and attorney access and so many e-capabilities,” said ECSC’s Chief Registrar, Michelle John Theobalds.
“We needed an application which was custom made for our court taking into consideration our peculiarities and needs while serving as a platform to improve the delivery of justice to the citizens of the OECS and to improve the operational efficiency of the courts both at the appellate and original jurisdictions,” she added.
Chief Justice, Dame Janice Pereira, said that the ECSC wanted to find a solution that would leverage cutting edge communication and internet technology to better manage and improve inefficiencies. A number of assessments were carried out as well as examining various systems to decide which would best work in the favour of the court.
“This is not just about us the judges and other officers of the court. It is more about the significant benefits that it brings to the people whom the court serves across its nine state jurisdiction. I am keenly aware that not all of us embrace change with ease.
“Some of us may think ourselves too old, but change is really the only constant and so if we are truly to remain constant we can only do so by embracing change,” Justice Pereira said.
The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.