An international webinar Digital hearings in court was held on 29 November 2021, with the aim of exchanging experiences in holding remote hearings.
The webinar was organised by the Norwegian Courts Administration, Donor Programme Partner of the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration in the implementation of Justice and Home Affairs Programme under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021. There were 40 participants from the Republic of Croatia, including judges and officials of the Ministry of Justice and Administration.
Judges from the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Croatia exchanged experiences of conducting hearings via video call. Ms Karina Larsen from the Norwegian Courts Administration delivered a presentation on the legal preconditions for holding remote hearings in the context of Norwegian law, and Ms Kristin Farstad, a judge at the Hordaland Municipal Court, shared her personal experience of holding such hearings.
Judge of the Commercial Court in Zagreb Maja Josipović presented the Croatian legal framework for remote hearings and shared her experiences, while Mr Marius Bartninkas, President of the Civil Division of the Kaunas Regional Court, presented the Lithuanian legal framework and practice of remote hearings. Prof. Dr. Anne Sanders from the University of Bielefed provided a comparative overview of different legal systems and approaches to remote hearings.