Conference under project "Paperless Commercial Courts" on paperless workflows, digitalisation and AI

Representatives of European Commission's Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM), Council of Europe and Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation participated on Monday 3 March 2025 in a conference under the project "Paperless Commercial Courts in Croatia"

The project supports the workflow digitalisation of Croatia’s commercial courts to increase their overall efficiency and will help optimise resources, reduce the length of proceedings and backlogs, in line with the Council of Europe standards, the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The project supports Croatian commercial courts in increasing the use of fully digital workflows for judges and court staff.
 
The project is currently piloting four commercial courts - in Dubrovnik, Split, Varaždin and Zagreb, and upon completion of the project in pilot courts, the methodology will be implemented in all other commercial courts in Croatia.
Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation Damir Habijan addressed the audience, pointing out that an independent, efficient and modern judiciary is necessary to face the daily needs of modern society.
 
"Thanks to such projects, it is possible to realise our vision of a future justice system, which is to resolve court cases more quickly, transparently and efficiently. We are aware that technology is developing at an incredible speed today and that is why our institutions must monitor these changes in order to be ready to respond to the challenges of modern society", said Minister Habijan, adding that increasing the accessibility and inclusiveness of court proceedings are the main advantages of this project.
 
"Improving the work of judges by reducing the administrative burden and focusing on the quality of judgments are of particular importance for citizens facing geographical and logistical obstacles", concluded Minister Habijan.
 
The conference provided an opportunity to exchange best practices from an international and Croatian perspective vis-à-vis paperless workflows and digitalisation in commercial courts, and European treaties on the use of Artificial Intelligence.
 
Konstantinos Koussoulis, Vice President of the Hellenic Council of State, presented insights on the integration of digital tools within the Greek judiciary and potential use of artificial intelligence. 

Irina Orssich, Head of Sector for AI Act Governance and Regulatory Policy of the European Commission, offered an in-depth overview of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. 

Anamarija Mladinić, Head of Sector for EU, International Cooperation and Legal Affairs of the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency, provided a presentation on the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence.

Since its launching in September 2024, the Project applied a three-faceted approach in analysing the legislative, IT and business aspects pertinent to commercial courts which are at the forefront of innovation in this area, enabling the transition to fully paperless workflows. 

The Project is co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the European Commission.

More information is available at: Croatia - Paperless Commercial Courts - Implementation of Human Rights, Justice and Legal Co-Operation Standards (coe.int)