MVC Blog

Court systems all across the world suffer from backlog troubles due to various circumstances. Whether defendants fail to appear, delays are made to dates, or other extraneous circumstances occur, cases are continually being prolonged and pushed back. This is especially true of international cases where defendants may be located remotely. But videoconferencing has the potential to alleviate some of the backlog in courts all around the world. A recent report from London describes how an important witness in a Pakistan’s memo scandal will appear in London via videoconferencing to testify.

The witness, Mansoor Ijaz, had previously failed to appear in court a number of times, an act that threatened to derail the entire investigation. But now, the courts are allowing him to present a recorded statement via a videoconferencing link that would not require him to travel. The Chief Justice in charge of the case decreed that recording Ijaz’s statement through video link would resolve issues of “security, travel expenses, and prestige of the commission”.

This is just a single example of how effective the technology can be in expediting the court process. An absent witness is only one potential element that could hold up a case; a number of other possible obstacles could be conquered through the use of videoconferencing. We have already seen it implemented as a tool to connect prisoners to court rooms without risking transportation or spending an excessive amount of money.

Videoconferencing can connect remote parties without inconveniencing them with travel or extraneous expenses. If the software and hardware is in place, the effort involved in participating in a video link is minimal. Smart application of the technology could significantly improve the courts process all over the world – hopefully, this international case will give that fact some attention.