INTRODUCTION

ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND THE APPLICATION OF ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES

As seen in the formulary system of ancient Roman civil proceedings, litigation is a procedure that is heavily focused on form and formality. Of course, in the Roman era, the formality of litigation was necessary because legal concepts had not yet been established, but in the modern system of litigation, the form of litigation was necessary to prevent arbitrary judgment by a powerful judge. As Rudolf von Jhering said in the nineteenth century, form is the sworn enemy of arbitrariness and the twin sister of freedom. This did not change much in the legal and litigation system until the end of the twentieth century, when communication via email entered the mainstream due to transformations in communication technology. Previously, it had been important in legal proceedings that paper documents or other material objects were delivered or appeared in the presence of judges. Hearing had to be held face to face in the presence of judges in the courtroom. These regulations were essential to ensure the stability of proceedings, the prevention of arbitrary judgment by judges, and the legitimate consequences of litigation.

However, in the twenty-first century, electronic technology has developed radically and has had a revolutionary effect on human life, so that machines have even acquired artificial intelligence (AI), and this phenomenon has affected the litigation system and the activities of judges and lawyers. The recording of sound and video footage, already a familiar feature in our everyday lives, made it possible in some countries to check whether the court proceedings were conducted transparently and fairly. As e-commerce, which is actively used in everyday life, is not found to create any problems in terms of the safety of transactions due to the development of security technology, the perception has become common that there is little risk in the electronic service of legal documents. The development of video transmission technology also raised questions about whether judges should have to give parties or witnesses face-to-face hearing in courtroom like they have done before. It may be assessed that the application of these electronic technologies (AET) would contribute significantly (if not inherently) to access to justice. However, the traditional litigation system, which respects the personal autonomy of the parties, adopted the principle of party disposition and adversary system.