Automation in the German Judicial System: Where Does It Stand? And Where Does It Go?

ABSTRACT The current state of automation in the German judicial system has not yet reached a point where it could be considered overly advanced. However, since 2018 the judiciary has made huge progress regarding electronic communication which since has become the norm for exchanges between courts and lawyers. While communication has been prioritized, the electronic file format still must develop as its use will become mandatory for all courts by 2026. Recent achievements in Artificial Intelligence have not found their way into the day-to-day operations of German courts but pilot projects have started in several federal states. Therefore, it seems that Germany is on track with its mission to accelerate the digitalization process of its Judiciary – yet complicated by reoccurring technical setbacks. This article focuses on the state of automation in civil and administrative justice.

KEYWORDS Automation – Judicial Systems – Ejustice

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. (Not so) digital Germany: Does reality match the reputation? – 2. Aspects of e-justice in communication. – 2.1. Judicial inbound communication. – 2.2. Judicial outbound communication. – 3. European ejustice: Cross-border communication. – 4. Aspects of e-justice in internal court procedures. – 4.1. Implementation of electronic files. – 4.2. The hermaphrodite electronic paper file. – 4.3. Electronic writing and reading support tools. – 4.4. The online court hearing. – 5. Next level automation in civil and administrative justice. – 5.1. Digital Legal Application Center. – 5.2. Civil Court Online Procedure. – 5.3. Generative Language Model of Justice. – 5.4. Anonymization of court decisions. – 5.5. Connected systems on the European level