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Success Story
USAID installed virtual
court rooms in areas
affected by violence
Virtual Court Rooms Help Colombian Judicial System
Photo: FIU\Carlos E. Vargas Camacho
The new virtual courtrooms allow justice
to be imparted in the country’s most
remote areas.
Over the first 11 months of
operation, more than 150
virtual hearings had been
carried out in the USAID-funded
court rooms.
Challenging logistics, high cost of travel and armed conflict in
Colombia’s judicial district of Villavicencio made holding court hearings
very difficult until a USAID program installed virtual court rooms in the
region.
Generally, judicial districts in Colombia do not cover more than one
state or department. But, the Judicial District of Villavicencio covers
fi ve departments of southeast Colombia, an area the size of the state
of Montana, all with limited infrastructure and diffi cult transportation
access. Although the area is not densely populated, its specific
geopolitical characteristics and the armed conflict in the zone present
enormous challenges in meeting the judicial needs of its residents.
Before the USAID program, because of safety concerns and distance,
judges, public offi cials and the accused often could not attend
hearings, obstructing implementation of Colombia’s new Criminal
Accusatory System.
“The new criminal accusatory system implied transportation expenses,
which we could not cover and have yet to be budgeted,” said
María Nydia Prieto, former area director for the Judicial District of
Villavicencio. Prieto said an alternative was needed to address the
transportation issues, lack of security and limited district budget.
And so, in the district where the postal service does not function
properly and people move about in boats on the rivers, high-end
technology presented a good solution. USAID installed rooms for virtual
hearings that include cameras, lights, microphones, video screens and
a satellite antenna to bring together those in a distant municipality with
the judge in Villavicencio in real time. The average cost of each branch
offi ce installation and the average annual communications cost for 20
branch offices is equivalent to the transportation costs of one judge for
15 hearings. Therefore, holding just 15 hearings per year balances out
the cost of operating the virtual court room system in its entirety.
The success of the virtual hearings has been recognized not only in
Colombia but at an international level. David F. Varela, senior specialist
in public sector reform for the World Bank Latin America and the
Caribbean said the World Bank has taken notice. “The Colombian
virtual courts’ experience has interested us as an efficient mechanism
to reduce costs and preserve the oral nature of the proceedings,
allowing face to face contact between the judge, the accused and the
key witnesses, the security of the accused and the witnesses, and
expedited decisions,” said Varela.
Over the first 11 months of operation, more than 150 virtual hearings
had been carried out in the USAID-funded court rooms. The justice
system has been able to comply with legal procedures and resolve
important matters from a distance.
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