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Some moves in this direction have in fact already been made by more innovative
legal eagles in Gujarat. One has been hearing about judges in Ahmedabad,
who have set up day and night legal clinics for those who are unable to leave their
work during the day.
Another area that requires attention is computerization of background material
that lawyers use. Case histories, past judgments by sessions and high courts, and
law manuals could be computerized for the benefit of the lawyers and judges. The
other convenience would be that if a person wanted to appeal to the higher court,
no physical paper work would be needed. An appeal could be sent electronically,
across the Net. Even references to other similar cases could be attached for the
expedience of lawyers.
Legal personnel could even have access to digital libraries over the Net, which
would serve as a one-stop resource base for the entire judicial fraternity. The Web
in fact, could open up a huge opportunity for the law-givers. Gujarat can look
forward to a time where “e-lawyers” would be a key asset to its judicial system.
Enterprising lawyers in the future could make a business of their Web presence.
Through their websites, they could provide judicial advise to clients at a modest
fee. If for instance, tomorrow, Mr. Ranaji Patel of Rajkot wants to set up an office
in Cincinnati, USA, he can find himself a Web-based legal expert to answer his
most serious queries. Such Web-based law firms and consultancy entities will also
enable common people in Gujarat to get free advise from people in the know.
IT then could create a major change in the legal system in Gujarat. From a system
that is slow, unwieldy, and sometimes not very user-friendly to the man on the
street, the state’s judiciary could be transformed into an efficient organism, where
speedy justice and low cost legal advise are the name of the game.
Gujarat always had smart lawyers and judges. What the state needs today are
“
smart” courts and a very “smart” judicial system. This means a quick introduction of
e-lawyers, an e-judiciary and networked courts.
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