Implementation and Management Approach

Digit 2.0 adopts a Service Oriented Architecture, in which each service (first electronic court papers, second Digital Rights Management, then web conferencing – trial on-line, ore the sharing and delivery of all the materials among the parties) preserve its autonomy, but with the practical effect to increase the proceeding of digitalization e total effectiveness

During the creation of the digital document sets, bookmarks are inserted into the Adobe PDF files to enable readers to navigate more easily within the digital documents.

Finalized materials are submitted for Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and then placed in an appropriate directory on the court’s internal file repository. The document set can be read reliably by authorized court staff using free Adobe Reader¨ software, versions 6 or later.

A copy of the original document (an exact copy in every detail, including stamps and signatures) is available at any time by simply clicking on the print option.

Digital folders are updated step by step while trials go ahead.

The software is re-usable for the Civil Trial and for the Clerk Office, or in every public or private organization that need to manage unstructured data, in a full context of Enterprise Content Management (E.C.M. philosophy)

If necessary, each PDF dossier can be secured, both during the preliminary investigations, both during the delivery to the lawyer. An important part of the DIGIT system is the use of Adobe LiveCycle Rights Management solution to generate documents with built-in security to provide the court with greater control over the distribution of documents.

The great numbers of PDF criminal dossier can be managed  by Adobe LiveCycle    (see technology solution) implemented to automate the transfer and processing of documents across all parties working on a case.

 At the end of a preliminary hearing, the final documentation set is saved to the digital system – or inside the content system -  and made available for subsequent uses, including appeals, archiving, and sentencing.

Since February 2005 the Court of Cremona has also started publishing sentences in PDF format (the ones related to digital folders) embedded with the one digitally signed (Qualified Electronic Signature – Q.E.S.) by the Judge and the Clerk. (see the PPT in PDF at the link https://share.acrobat.com/adc/document.do?docid=e5848fd5-65ab-48e8-b1ac-94514cec914b )

The web conferencing-based trial system is currently used in one courtroom at the Court of Cremona, which has been equipped with workstations connected to the Internet through optical cables. Each participant in a trial can be physically present in the room. Or, he could be in his office, at home, or even in prison, and communicate with the others through one of the workstations.

The web conference-based trial takes place as follows: a virtual room is created and e-mails are sent to invite participants. Participants access a specified URL to enter the virtual room. A judge or the court chancellor will then start the trial by enabling the transmission of video and sound. In the virtual room, the chancellor maps a component of the desktop to each trial participant so that participants can interact with each other according to policies assigned to their roles. It is important to note that our solution based on Adobe software and technology was implemented without any customization.

In the virtual room it’s possible to share documents, to sign them with Q.E.S., to fallow the activity of the Judge or the Clark.

Inside the same section, it’s possible open different virtual rooms, in which the parties can discuss, with the permission of the President, in a private chat (f.e. Lawyer and his client, two Public prosecutors, Public Prosecutor and Lawyer et so on)

It’s possible to record the entire Trial on-line, and assemble it inside the digital dossier.

Technology solution

Digit 2.0 is the new project that, through the implementation of groundbreaking technological solutions, allows the Court of Cremona to innovate the Court system and optimize the work of all the parties involved in the trials, ensuring better service to the citizens and full compliance with the current and future rules.

The Court of Cremona represents a case of excellence in Italy and since 2004 has been investing in the dematerialization of trial paperwork in view of improving efficiency and cut the costs for record and document management. Thanks to Digit 2.0 and to the Adobe technologies, the Court makes an important progress and implements a set of modes and instruments aimed at improving co-operation at the different stages of the trial, sharing documents, promoting communication between the Court and the parties involved in the trial, and ensuring legal compliance.

With Digit 2.0 the Court of Cremona expands the use of Web Conference tools to the discussion phase of the trial. Using the Adobe solutions allows to carry out remote protected hearings of witnesses, examinations and depositions, involving investigated parties, experts, and consultants without necessarily requiring their physical appearance in the courtroom. The Web Conference solution is also used to organize e-learning sessions. At the experimental stage, 112 operational sessions have already been carried out with satisfactory results in terms of connection reliability and recording quality. In order to manage online hearings and auditions, the standard equipment of the Court (microphones, audio systems, etc.) has been used in view of reuse and further cost optimization.

The project also provides for the secure, tracked, and controlled sharing of all the trial documents, including multimedia elements, such as videos, audio inputs, and applications. The use of the Adobe technologies allows the authorized users (lawyers, investigated parties, witnesses, and other offices) to access the information also remotely, using a simple Web browser, with no need for special IT equipment. The sharing process is fully and constantly monitored and allows to track all the operations performed on the documents – from access to reading and down to printing, editing, retrieving, and digital signing.  

The use of the Certified E-Mail (CEM) and of the digital signature allows the Court of Cremona to notify the records to the concerned parties in the digital format and in an utterly safe and reliable manner, improving external communications with significant time and cost saving.

Finally, Digit 2.0 ensures maximum compliance with the rules in force and anticipates the achievement of the targets set by the e-Government 2012 Plan, as well as the provisions contained in the Bill of Law for the implementation of the Digital Administration Code on Justice.

The project is based on the Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro solutions for Web Conference and remote collaboration, Adobe LiveCycle Content Services ES for the implementation of the documentary repository, Adobe LiveCycle Rights Management ES for the safe distribution of documents, Adobe Acrobat 9 for the creation of electronic ISO PDF/A files, and Acrobat.com for application sharing and collaboration via the Web.

The Digit project, created at the Court of Cremona in 2004, was recognized as a project of national interest. Today all the Court’s criminal judgements issued after 2004 are available in the PDF/A digital format. Thanks to the input of the Digit office, located at the Jail of Cremona, the dematerialization of all the judgements issued by the Court of Cremona from 2000 to 2004 is now under way.