The use of remote hearings, e-filing, and videolinks in the legal system is being enhanced under measures aimed a meeting the challenges posed by coronavirus.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has signed commencement orders for a new law to reform the courts and civil and criminal law system.
Some of the new measures contain the lodgement of documents with the courts by electronic means, or e-filing, the provision for the wider use of videolinks between people in custody and the courts, and enhancing and widening the existing provisions on giving evidence through videolink.
The act is also making it easier to alter the operating hours and sitting locations of the district court. Minister McEntee said the measures provide for a range of