Saarland wants to become the first federal state to introduce fully virtual hearings in civil proceedings. “We are becoming a pioneer nationwide. So far we are the only one who wants to implement the new legal options as quickly as possible,” said State Secretary Jens Diener (SPD) to the German Press Agency in Saarbrücken.
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Accordingly, the Saarland Higher Regional Court, the Saarbrücken Regional Court and the Homburg District Court are participating in a pilot project that was made possible by recently passed federal legislation to promote the use of video conferencing technology.
linked to image and sound
Unlike virtual hearings, which previously took place in the courtroom and where lawyers and people involved in the process could attend upon request, civil proceedings can now take place entirely virtually. This means that outside the courtroom, the judge and the people involved in the proceedings are connected to each other via image and sound transmission.
“The special thing about video broadcasting in court proceedings is that we always have to promote,” said Diener. This is to be ensured by broadcasting one – or several – court hearings in a specially equipped room. Interested citizens can wear headphones and decide for themselves which hearings they want to watch.
Less time and cost
“The Saarland justice system is making great progress in digitalization,” said Diener. Above all, he expects a higher level of flexibility from this. On the one hand, the time and costs for traveling to court are eliminated, and negotiations can be scheduled more quickly because judges no longer have to rely on fixed days to meet in the courtroom.
Especially in civil law, there are many procedures and negotiations that last a very short time – for example because applications are only submitted. In his opinion, procedures in which it is clear that the parties will probably come to an agreement or that something has to happen very quickly are particularly suitable for fully virtual negotiations. This would make court proceedings “faster, more efficient and therefore more citizen-friendly”.
Whether judges use this new legal option is up to each individual. However, according to Diener, there is a lot of interest in trying out the procedure in the three courts involved. The Federal Ministry of Justice will evaluate the results after four years.
audio-visual interrogation
The state justice secretary was also able to draw initial positive conclusions from a digital development in criminal proceedings: the audiovisual questioning of witnesses. The point is that witnesses in a criminal case only need to be heard once. This questioning is recorded in a room at the district court in Saarbrücken and can then be played back at further hearings. A major advantage is that child victim witnesses, for example, are not expected to testify several times. In this sense, it is “an important milestone in the field of child and victim protection”.
When it was introduced in 2022, the public prosecutor’s office submitted two applications for it, in 2023 there were 46 and in the current year there have been 29 applications so far. Diner: “You can say that practice has accepted it well.”
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(EMW)
