The Role of Digital Transformation in Fostering Transparency: An e-Court System Case Study

Abstract

Transparency is a crucial element in the judiciary to promote citizen confidence in courts and ensure fair case administration by court staff. Therefore, digital transformation of courts is becoming a mandatory step to increase transparency by providing a new opportunity for court data to be open, visible, and accessible to the citizen. Digital transformation of courts is initiated through digitizing court processes and implementing e-court systems to enhance transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness of court processes. The objective of this research is to explore the role of e-court systems in fostering transparency in justice administration by delving into the e-court system of the Sulaymaniyah Appellate Court in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) as a case study. The analysis was based on the mixed method of both quantitative and qualitative approaches, with a triangulation of multiple data sources including surveys, expert interviews, observations, and document analysis. The results show that implementing an e-court system enhances transparency in the court processes and results in a more efficient and effective court system with improved justice delivery to the public.