New-Generation Templates Facilitating the Shift from Documents to Data in the Italian Judiciary

Abstract

The Italian judicial system may be about to make a historic transition: from the mere digitization of its documents to an activity intrinsically shaped by the possibilities that the digital environment offers (digitalization as controlled flow of data) and that allows, for the first time operationally, the use of artificial intelligence techniques. The paper describes the research carried out by the authors (The paper was jointly conceived by the authors. However, the introduction of Sect. 3 and Sect. 4 were written by Amedeo Santosuosso, Sects. 1 and 2 were written by Stefano D'Ancona and Sects. 3.1 and 3.2 were written by Emanuela Furiosi.) as part of the NEXT GEN UPP research project, launched in 2021 by the Italian Ministry of Justice, with the aim, among others, of enhancing the digitalization of judicial activities as a basis for the improvement of organizational processes and the application of Legal Analytics (LA) tools to legal texts. The activity described in this paper relates to the design of a “new-generation template” that can be used by judges and lawyers in carrying out their activities. These new templates can maximize the efficiency of judicial activity while creating an enabling IT environment for the use of the most advanced artificial intelligence technologies, both current and future.