Perception Regarding the Virtualization Post COVID-19 of the Judicial ProcessesRegarding the Virtualization Post COVID-19 of the Judicial Processes

Abstract

The measures adopted in response the COVID-19 pandemic affected all the different parts conforming a judicial process. The operators of the judicial system, the litigious attorneys, and the members of governmental entities such as the "Personeria" and "Contraloria", who constantly interact with said processes, saw themselves challenged by the situation in a way that had their legal ways change. Beyond this, the mentioned changes risked the State's capability to guarantee the due process, since the use of technological tools was demanded. In this article, the perception of the different parts of the judicial process regarding its virtualization, is analyzed. This done by studying bibliography and conducting a semi-structured interview to three different types of professionals who took part in judicial processes throughout the pandemic. Therefore, the principal conclusion is that there is a common perception in regards the concept of justice, as well as to the issues the justice administration faces, excepting the one from the members of the judicial system, since it is related to fulfillment of its tasks. Also, the interviewees agreed on that the new legislation regarding the judicial processes' virtualization does not promise to solve the issues faced by the justice administration; problems such as: congestion, lack of manpower schooled in digital technologies and the standardization of the information gathered by said technologies.

KEY WORDS: virtualization, judicial processes, COVID-19.