Government at work to get e-justice platform back online

Work is underway to iron out the kinks in the e-justice platform to get it back online after the system came crashing down last month, the government said on Tuesday.

Deputy Minister of Research Nicodemos Damianou said the contractor is working to fix the system so that it can delivered – fully operational this time.

But he demurred when asked if a timetable exists for delivery of the system.

In the meantime, the legal community has reverted to using the so-called i-justice system – a stopgap system that features only partial digitisation.

The e-justice system – with full digitisation and file search features – had crashed in mid-January just a day after its launch.

Chronicling the affair and what went wrong, Damianou said the specifications were drawn up in 2017. The contract for the system was awarded in September 2020.

Since then, for 40 months the system was under development, with significant delays in delivering the project to the client – the government.

The deputy minister conceded the platform has technical glitches, but stressed that the government will not ditch it.

“The e-justice system is a step in the right direction, so long as we get it to work properly,” he remarked.

Asked whether the government can claim compensation from the contractor for the delays, Damianou said only that they are in touch with their attorneys.

Regarding the cost of the project, Damianou stated that the contract had been awarded for €5.8 million. But with changes made over the intervening 40 months, the figure went up to €7 million.

This amount also covers the operation of the system and licensing. For an initial period the contractor retains exclusive licensing, after which the state may acquire an end-user license. All this is covered by the €7 million.

On whether the system could not handle a large number of simultaneous users, causing it to crash, Damianou said it was probably “not built correctly”.

“Something went wrong with its design, and evidently it was not properly tested before being handed over.”