By 2026, electronic files should be standard in Saxony's judiciary. The switch from analogue to digital in court has been going on since 2019 - now the first area is done with it.
Dresden (dpa/sn) - Almost three years after the start of the changeover to paperless work, there are more than 60,000 electronic files in the Saxon judiciary. According to the Ministry of Justice in Dresden, 400 workstations for judges and magistrates as well as 600 workstations in offices have so far been equipped with the necessary hardware - monitors, signature card readers, notebooks. 120 courtrooms are equipped with the electronic case file (E-Akte) for negotiations - and the first complete jurisdiction manages its files digitally.
The introduction is planned for several years and will take place step by step. The project is "on schedule", despite corona-related restrictions on training, for example, said a ministry spokeswoman. The pandemic has "significantly increased" awareness of the need for digitization in the judiciary. According to the legal mandate, the courts and public prosecutor's offices in the Free State must work with the electronic file from January 1, 2026.
While new incoming procedures are managed electronically from the day of the changeover, pending cases are usually still closed as paper files in order to avoid legally secure rescanning. Around 1000 employees are currently working electronically: in the civil departments of the Higher Regional Court (OLG), all regional and numerous district courts, family and care departments of some district courts, the Chemnitz Social Court and the State Social Court. According to the ministry, 20 local and regional courts and seven specialized courts are equipped.
With the connection of the Zwickau labor court on Monday, the first jurisdiction is now running its files electronically, says the ministry spokeswoman. This means that Saxony is "far ahead" in a nationwide comparison, in fourth place. According to the Higher Regional Court, the civil area of ordinary jurisdiction is also "well advanced" - and other departments are being piloted in some cases.
