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Spring 1999
JUDICOM
JUDICOM is the acronym for judicial communication. This is an electronic collaborative tool developed by the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs to connect federally appointed judges in Canada to the information highway. It consists of three components: the Judicial Affairs Information Network (JAIN), whose members are federally appointed judges; the Provincial Judicial network (PJPNet), whose members are provincially appointed judges; and the Association of Canadian Court Administrators network (ACCAnet), whose members are Canadian Court Administrators.
JUDICOM'S mission is to provide all members with an electronic information infrastructure that enables them to store, exchange, disseminate, and access information. It allows its members, within their respective components, to establish a kind of "virtual community," a meeting place wherein ideas can be exchanged.
In addition to event listings and a library of documents on current issues, JUDICOM can host as many discussion groups as there are issues that interest its users. This graphical tool is a secure, easy-to-learn, multi-platform communications system. It integrates full-fledged e-mail with work group communication services, such as group conferencing for quick information dissemination, on-line public or private discussions (chatting), file sharing, remote access, and on-line information services, as well as database access through forms processing. It can be accessed remotely through direct modem dial-up or the Internet.
JUDICOM can be viewed as a hotel complex where different levels of access exist. The ground floor, for example, has public access with novelty shops and boutiques open to all of those forming part of the complex. As one progresses in the building, access is restricted. In a hotel, the building is for guests only but there is no discrimination on the type of guest, and all can move freely in common areas such as the lobby and the elevators. Some floors, however, such as the executive floor, are restricted to a particular category of guests and are controlled with a key entry system. Only pre-authorized guests with appropriate identification can gain access. In our system, information that is of particular interest to a group is posted in a restricted area, such as JAIN for federally appointed judges. General information that can be made available to the entire community is posted on JUDICOM.
In carrying out their responsibilities, judges represent the profile of classic "knowledge workers." By the nature of their work, judges make extensive use of information. The main tool of judges in fulfilling their responsibility is the interpretation of judicial information. A key attribute for a judge's effectiveness is ensuring that his or her interpretations are the most current and generally accepted. JAIN has assisted in ensuring that the body of knowledge shared by federally appointed judges is available to all judges, wherever they are located. Judges have found JAIN to be valuable in providing key information for making decisions, with enormous potential for increasing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the court.
Over the last three years, the addition of this virtual dimension to the judge's workbench has demonstrated its potential for dealing with traditional barriers often associated with judicial duties. It virtually eliminates isolation caused by time, distance, work load, or simply the conventions of the profession. It puts at judges' fingertips the data they have collectively assembled and tailored to serve their needs and those of litigants. This inter-provincial exchange of information is invaluable and can only serve to make the entire judicial system more efficient. The achievement of this network has been to provide federally appointed judges with a customized, collaborative tool that has served as an incentive to and a means of exploring the applications and advantages of automation to the judiciary.
An important factor in the success of this network is the sense of ownership that the judges have. We established early on in the development process that we were only the custodians of the nuts and bolts and that technology is much more than just copper wires and silicon chips¾it's what lies beyond. The judges were not just clients, but rather the spirit that we were attempting to capture in the bottle. From the beginning, they have been in charge of the content and the way it is organized and sorted. We merely built the container. We created a steering committee that met regularly and conducted focus group meetings to capture the collective thoughts of judges dealing with fundamental issues. We always proceeded only when we had a clear understanding of their needs and those of the users and information providers.
This electronic tool has contributed to improving the efficiency of the judiciary by promoting the use of information technology by a group that is somewhat cautious by nature. It has won the support of judges despite their affinity for more traditional forms of communication. Judges have used it primarily as a source of information and as a way to confer with colleagues on matters that otherwise would have been restricted to those few normally making up their court. JAIN has amassed a group of knowledge workers, extending the reach of each individual and making available to each the knowledge and experiences of the whole.
In the last year, in order to ensure the evolution of the system, we have continued to enter into partnership agreements with a number of law publishers, other government departments, bar and court associations, and other organizations. In this way, we can establish a community that has easy access to judicial information through hypertext links. By providing a one-stop shopping environment, we hope to raise the concept of a judicial collaborative tool to a height not yet seen in Canada.
André Gareau is the director general for Corporate Services and Jean Yves Gagné is the director of Information Management/Information Technology at the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs in Ottawa, Ontario; Irving Goldenberg is a justice on the Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan; and Anne Roland is the registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada. This article is based on their presentation at the Sixth National Court Technology Conference (CTC6).
