The Supreme Court's Digital Transcription System (DTS) leverages on various technologies to put in place an integrated system to facilitate the digital audio recording of court hearings. The DTS allows the Supreme Court to digitally capture audio recordings of the court proceedings and perform near real-time transcription.
The system also allows for the synchronisation of the final digital audio recording with annotations made by Judges during hearings. This feature allows Judges to execute the search and playback function to review the audio recording and the corresponding annotations after the hearings. The DTS also allows for remote transcription so that court transcribers need not be physically present in the courtroom. Since 1 August 2005, the DTS has been made available to all courtrooms in the Supreme Court Building. DTS will be extended to hearing chambers at a later date.
To ensure that parties and witnesses attend the hearings in the correct courtrooms and chambers, electronic signages are put up outside each courtroom and hearing chamber. The e-signages are constantly updated to reflect the latest and most accurate information and obviate the need for paper notice boards in the Supreme Court building.
All courtrooms in the Supreme Court building are equipped with the necessary network infrastructure to facilitate electronic hearings. Counsel may also bring their notebook computers to court, access electronic case files and present their cases using the appropriate technology.
The Electronic Queue Management System (EQMS) provides an equitable and orderly queue system in the Supreme Court, especially for chamber hearings before the Registrars. The EQMS, which works on a first-come-first-served basis, notifies lawyers of when their case is going to be heard through display screens. The EQMS allows the Registrars flexibility in managing queues, by enabling them to arrange for short matters, such as adjournment or consent applications, to be heard first. EQMS has been rolled out to all applications before Registrars, except hearings for bankruptcy petitions.
To allow lawyers and members of the public to obtain up-to-date hearing lists and other court schedules, there are six information kiosks in the Supreme Court Building to assist court users. The information kiosks' interface is integrated with the Supreme Court website, and users are able to access information on the Duty Judge and Duty Registrar, hearing lists, venues for hearings, as well as a directory of the courtrooms and hearing chambers to facilitate easy navigation in the Supreme Court building. Information kiosks are located on Level 1 near the Information Counter, as well as near the escalator landing and at the waiting areas on Level 2.
The Internet Vole videophone, which works exactly like a conventional telephone, allows the Duty Registrars to hear cases that are non-contentious in nature. This allows counsel to participate in virtual hearings in the comfort of their offices, resulting in time and cost savings for parties and their counsel. Internet Vole Videophones have been installed in all 8 Registrars' chambers on Level 2.
Internet wireless hotspots have been installed in all public areas and courtrooms in the Supreme Court building. This enables lawyers and court users to access the Internet in areas such as the Library, The Academy Bistro and the waiting areas on Level 2 while waiting for their hearings to commence.
The JusticeOnLine System has been used for chamber hearings for Bankruptcy Petitions and Criminal Pre-Trial Conferences since January 2003. This is a system, based on a web-based video conferencing system, that enables Registrars to conduct hearings using desktop computers in hearing chambers. Through the JusticeOnLine System, lawyers need not be physically present in court and can attend a chamber hearing via video-conferencing using their desktop computer in the offices. It allows lawyers to request a videoconference hearing and monitor their places in the queue. The JusticeOnLine System provides both point-to-point and multi-party video conferencing through the Internet on a web interface. The system can be customised to suit the workflow of the courts and lawyers.
In order to encourage more lawyers to take advantage of advancements in technology to better present their cases, mobile technology facilities are available for use in non-technology courtrooms and chambers. Mobile audio-visual equipment is available for use in both the non-technology courtrooms and hearing chambers, while mobile video-conferencing equipment is for use in hearing chambers only.
The Technology Courts house advanced technologies to enable lawyers to present their cases more effectively. There are five Technology Courts in the Supreme Court building. Some of the technological facilities available in each of the Technology Courts include video-conferencing facilities, a document camera and a multi-format disc player.
|