Transforming governance and technology in civil and administrative justice

Abstract

How can technology provide better access to civil and administrative justice? This article argues that reforming the organisational design of justice is an essential first step, by developing a graduated set of procedures that filter disputes and complaints, managing them in a consistent and, where appropriate, systemic way. Such a system requires online (or telephone) filing of matters, tracking software to follow individual cases and reporting systems to detect patterns. Australian jurisdictions have proceeded a long way down this path, offering a sharp contrast to litigation-prone justice processes in some other common law systems, although perhaps less systematic and orderly than some civil law systems. The ombudsman model provides a mechanism for handling complaints against large agencies, whether in the public or private sector; tribunals provide an accessible forum for most disputes; and accident and disability claims are increasingly decided through administrative processes based on professional assessments of need. While new technologies can allow greater centralisation of justice procedures, the authors argue that such technologies can also promote more localised and dispersed justice procedures, taking as an example the "tribunal in a box" model developed by the Victorian tribunal system.