Singapore courts will begin virtual justice from next month with an Internet-based video conferencing system that allows lawyers present cases from their offices.
Lawyers will book their virtual hearings through the Internet, wait in a virtual queue until required, conduct hearings from their offices and be able to check the time and costs involved for the hearing.
But the system is not for drawn-out legal arguments and long-running trials and will mainly be used for pre-trial conferences and applications in civil proceedings.
It will operate in the civil registry, the family and juvenile court, the criminal court and the primary dispute resolution centre.
A statement from the Subordinate Courts said Friday the system would save the legal industry 20 million Singaporean dollars a year by converting travelling and waiting costs into productive office time.
The system, which has been trialled since early this year, also extends to three prisons in Singapore - saving lawyers a trip to jail to interview clients, the Straits Timesreported.
AFP