Justice as a gamechanger

Today I was interviewed by the agile Nerds of Law Katharina Bisset und Michael Lanzinger for their podcast. As often, the question was, will legal tech become more widespread? What will that mean for the legal profession?

For the most part, there are fairly balancing answers to that question. For once, I'd like to spin a polarizing thought:

"The gamechanger" par excellence in Austria was the justice system. It began deep in the 20th century with the introduction of the form-based dunning action and the digitization of the land register, and a little later the company register. Mandatory electronic legal transactions with the courts gave Austria a decades-long head start. What if the justice system were once again the driving force, and what might that look like?

A thought experiment: laws would be written in machine-readable German, i.e., with clear logical relationships and well-defined terms. There would even be room for discretionary leeway, but we would have to dispense with undefined legal terms and systematic loopholes. The jurisprudence of all courts would be analyzed in depth by machine and connected to the new laws by means of connectors. THAT would be a game changer, but one that would not please many of those involved in the legal system (lawyers, judges, even experts), because many court proceedings could be automated or simply eliminated.

Is the idea absurd? No, research on legal language is plentiful. The bigger issue would certainly be the connection of the jurisdiction, but at least it would not fail today because of the computing power.

Not to be misunderstood: This is not a proposal, but a thought experiment. But the underlying thesis is a fact: Digitization in Austria runs through the justice system!

Digitization of the judiciary: Now!

In Austria, an obligation to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is to be stipulated by law. Needless to say, this plan is polarizing opinion. Recently, the professional association of judges and public prosecutors expressed its position on this issue. In addition to constitutional concerns, the issue is the immense additional burden on the courts resulting from the expected appeals against penal decisions. There is talk of a 6-digit number of additional proceedings "threatening" the administrative courts and supreme courts. 

The concern is certainly justified. One does not have to be a prophet to foresee that this wave of complaints will be steered on the one hand by certain political parties, but also by the legal profession. And there the question of resources does not arise? No, because these complaints will certainly be handled with a high level of technological support. Just as in the case of flight delays or fines for speeding.

These resources must also be available to the authorities! The cases will resemble each other or can be typified, the arguments will be repeated. If lawyers manage to build up the necessary infrastructure - why should the judiciary not be able to do so?

It is certainly not a financial question. Probably a legal one, but the lawyers on the other side are also obliged to personally authorize each and every appeal, and the relevant case law of the Administrative Court is well known. But of course, it also requires the willingness of judges (and politicians) to accept technological support. If compulsory vaccination actually becomes law, typical mass proceedings must be expected. The timing for a digitization push in the judiciary could not be better.