Strenghtening Infrastructural Capacitites of Judiciary as a Precondition for Efficiency of Criminal Justice

Kolaković-Bojović, Milica (2017) Strenghtening Infrastructural Capacitites of Judiciary as a Precondition for Efficiency of Criminal Justice. In: International Scientific Conference "Archibald Reiss Days", Belgrade, 7-9 November 2017. Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies, Belgrade, pp. 379-389. ISBN 978-86-7020-386-0

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Abstract

Achieving an efficiency of criminal justice requires an ideal balance between reasonable length of procedure, protection of defendant’s procedural rights and reasonable usage of resources. Having that in mind, it is understandable that significant efforts have been made in last decades by legal theoreticians, legislators as well as legal practitioners to identify all relevant factors that could have a positive influence on efficiency. One of these factors lies in ensuring appropriate infrastructural conditions in courts and prosecutors’ offices. The term infrastructure traditionally assumed adequate buildings/facilities for courts and prosecutors’ offices but the situation has been significantly changed since 1990’s. A new technologies brought not just the evolution but the revolution in automatization of internal procedures, case management, video conferencing and recording of hearings, improvement of investigative techniques as well as in transparency of judiciary. Strengthening infrastructural capacities of judiciary has become one of the biggest challenges when it comes to reform of criminal justice system having in mind significant financial resources that need to be allocated through the state budget as well as through the project support. Beyond investments, the important obstacle in improvement of the ICT infrastructure could be found in coordination with renovation of court and prosecution facilities as the most usual way of their improvement. The last, but not less important obstacle is in resistance that has existed among judges, public prosecutors and administrative staff. Although persistent in their requests to get better working conditions they are not likely to change their work routine and built professional skills.

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