Digital transition of the justice system

It presupposes the adoption of an appropriate legal framework, at both federal and cantonal levels. This transition also involves adapting the working procedures of the judicial authorities, their information systems, the workstations of the magistrates and collaborators as well as the courtrooms.

On the federal legislative level, in December 2024, the Federal Parliament adopted the federal act on the platform for electronic communication in the judicial field. The act lays down the necessary framework conditions for electronic communication and consultation in the judicial sphere. The law also contains the necessary amendments to federal procedural law. The cantons, for their part, will have to adapt cantonal law, in particular the law of administrative procedure.

The Conference of the justice system – which is made up of representatives of federal and cantonal judicial authorities – and the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors have also launched a national project called Justitia 4.0, to work together on the practical implementation of the digital transition of the justice system. In particular, the project aims to build a common platform for consultation and communication in the judicial field justitia.swiss.

The national project does not aim to achieve the digital transition of each judicial authority on its own. It is up to the cantons to implement the necessary projects to this end. The Geneva Judicial power is conducting an internal project called eDossier judiciaire, designed to adapt work processes, information systems, equipment, courtrooms and workstations for staff and magistrates.

Project planning is still provisional. It will depend on the date of entry into force of the federal act and the implementation timetable that the cantons will set, within a five-year timeframe from the date of entry into force.

The Electronic Communication Platforms in Judicial Matters Act (ACPJ), adopted on 20 December 2024, sets out the following provisions for electronic communication and consultation. It also adapts federal procedural law.

• The obligation of judicial authorities to keep judicial files in electronic form.
• The obligation of judicial authorities to communicate electronically with lawyers or other professionally qualified representatives.
• The obligation for lawyers and other professionally qualified representatives to communicate electronically with the judicial authorities, and also to consult court files in electronic form.
• The ability for natural and legal persons acting on their own to do the same.

The ACPJ also contains provisions enabling the Confederation and the cantons to create a public-law corporation by means of an agreement. This will be called justitia.swiss and will be responsible for operating the communication platform of the same name, as well as other IT applications developed jointly in the judicial field. It will be managed by a General Assembly comprising the Federal Councillor responsible for the Department of Justice and Police, the President of the Federal Supreme Court and two representatives from each canton, as well as by a Committee. The draft agreement is currently under consultation with the federal and cantonal authorities.

It will be up to the Federal Council to decide on the entry into force of the law in the near future. It is not excluded that it provides for an entry into force in two stages. First, the provisions relating to the creation of the public-law corporation could come into force, to enable the cantons and the Confederation to sign up to the agreement and create the corporation responsible for operating the platform justitia.swiss. The other provisions could come into force at a later date.

The project Justitia 4.0 is particularly concerned with the development of the secure platform justitia.swiss, which will enable electronic communication with judicial authorities, as well as online consultation of court files. Initiated at the end of 2022, the new project is currently underway. The Geneva Judicial power is contributing actively to this project.

The project Justitia 4.0 will also make available a digital court file management application, which cantonal and federal judicial authorities will be able to acquire. In 2022, the Geneva Judicial power took part, alongside Berne and Aargau, in the feasibility study conducted by the national project. It has been using the digital court file management application as part of a pilot project in the Tribunal civil since October 2025.

The project Justitia 4.0 also proposes measures to support implementation of change to federal and cantonal judicial authorities. These measures form a central axis. They will need to be adapted and supplemented by a change management plan specific to the Geneva Judicial power.