e-Justice has been under discussion at European level since 2007 and we are now able to discover and use the first practical tools developed as a result of the roadmap for European e-Justice. This one-day seminar for beginners will detail the evolutionary European framework, roadmap and action plan, explore the progress and obstacles of a true European e-Justice, as well as allowing participants to use two of the main tools of European e-Justice and discuss their relevance to their professional practice.

Some information on the work currently being done to develop e-Justice tools will be succinctly provided.

From the mere access to information on laws via the internet, to the possibility of electronic communication with persons involved in court proceedings, there is a wide range of opportunities for using information technologies at national, European Union and international level. This not only facilitates communication between professionals, but also improves access to justice for citizens, businesses and legal practitioners.

However, use of e-Justice tools at European level requires interoperability between national systems.

Users are thus confronted with some specific obstacles: a confusing profusion of sources of information; a partial lack of legal harmonisation, national or even technical choices; and multilingual contexts.