Digital transformation is an important task of the judiciary sector

Digital transformation will help increase legal system consistency, increase public awareness of legal rights, and improve access to judicial services for vulnerable people, experts have said at the 2023 annual legal forum held on Monday in Hà Nội.

The forum, which had the theme ‘Digital Transformation in Việt Nam's justice sector’, was jointly chaired by the Ministry of Justice, the European Union and the United Nations Development Program in Việt Nam.

Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyễn Thanh Tịnh said digital transformation is an important task, contributing to improving the efficiency of State management and improving the quality of public services of the judiciary sector.

The ministry has issued programmes and plans for digital transformation. Up to now, all administrative procedures have been posted on the national public service portal and the ministry’s essential public services such as registration of births, marriages, death declarations, and issuance of judicial record cards, he said.

The nationwide electronic civil status database is gradually being formed, he added.

However, digital transformation is a new issue, requiring the judiciary sector to have a strategy to create change in the method of management and operation.

UNDP Resident Representative in Việt Nam Ramla Khalidi said digital transformation can contribute to achieving the goals of building a modern and professional justice system, which is transparent, accountable and easily accessible.

Well-designed e-judicial initiatives can effectively increase access to justice for vulnerable communities, she said.

At the discussion session, Phạm Đức Dụ, deputy director of the ministry’s Information Technology Department, pointed out limitations in the current digital transformation implementation process.

Dụ said the information technology infrastructure has not met the requirements of e-government development and digital transformation requirements of the judicial sector.

Human resources to operate information security and troubleshoot problems have remained inadequate, he said. The investment in software remains modest, which makes it difficult to meet the needs of customers and respond to arising problems.

Chu Thị Hoa, deputy director of the ministry’s Institute of Strategy and Legal Science, emphasised that in order to enhance the effectiveness of law-making activities, the ministry should take advantage of big data and Internet of Things in the process of collecting information and documents; and artificial intelligence to support the assessment of policy analysis, policy impact assessment, and collect and analyse recommendations from individuals and organisations in order to enhance the collection of comments on legal documents.

The European Union Ambassador to Việt Nam Giorgio Aliberty said the EU's approach is to make better use of digital technologies while fully respecting fundamental rights.

Access to justice needs to keep pace with the development of the society, including digital transformation. And concerted efforts are needed to fully benefit from digital technologies in judicial proceedings, including cross-border judicial cooperation, he said.

The annual legal forum, the most important event of the year of the Legal Partnership Group, was organised to update and share information on the achievements, requirements as well as priority tasks of Vietnamese organisations and agencies in the current judicial and legal reform process.

The forum is organised within the framework of the project on strengthening the Law and Justice in Việt Nam, which are sponsored by the European Union, UNDP, and UNICEF.