Digitalization of Judicial Activity: Main Stages, Risks, Development Trends

Digitalization of various spheres of public life is an inevitability due to the intensive development of technological processes and the need to introduce innovations. Most developments in the field of digital technologies are aimed at increasing the speed of searching for the necessary information, the interaction of various actors without the need for their physical presence, and freeing personnel from routine operations. The judicial system is improving under the influence of digitalization. The introduction of new technologies into judicial activities is carried out very carefully and not as quickly as it happens in other fields of activity. This is primarily due to the fact that the intangible nature of digital products, the ability of systems to change and update after their introduction into circulation, can lead to human rights violations and create an imbalance between private and public interests. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the practical benefits of advanced technologies introduced into the Russian judiciary and identify some imperfections in legal regulation to improve safety and reduce the risks of their use in the activities of courts. The use of general scientific methods such as comparative law, hermeneutical and formal law allowed the authors to consider the main stages of the digitalization of judicial activity, including justice, identify some problems (for example, vulnerability to cyber attacks), and identify promising development paths. The use of the induction method allowed us to form a number of general conclusions, including the need to improve legal regulation. The authors note that despite the success of high technologies and their positive impact on the judicial system (digital justice contributes to the implementation of the principle of accessibility of justice, speeds up and simplifies the filing of procedural documents and evidence in cases before the courts), justice should not abandon the traditional form.