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Munich (dpa / lby) - More and more court cases in Bavaria have been taking place digitally since the beginning of the corona pandemic.
"The number of video conferences in the Bavarian courts has increased as a result of the corona pandemic," said the Ministry of Justice in Munich.
However, specific figures are not recorded statistically.
At the Munich I Regional Court alone, more than 100 civil proceedings were terminated or already negotiated as online negotiations via video conference this year.
“The District Court of Munich I sees itself as a pioneer in conducting court hearings by means of video conferencing.
Our state-of-the-art video conferencing system is very easy to use and is very popular, as the numbers prove, ”said Regional Court President Andrea Schmidt.
The court plans to hold online training courses for lawyers on December 21st in order to dispel any reservations about this form of trial.
"The corona pandemic in particular this year has shown how important the topic of digitization is for the legal profession," said the President of the Munich Bar Association, Michael Then.
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According to the Ministry of Justice, there are currently 76 video conference systems in 75 courts in Bavarian courts for digital processes.
"The use of video technology in the courtrooms has already been increased and is to be further expanded," said the ministry.
14 more systems have been ordered.
The aim is therefore to have “comprehensive equipment”.
In future, a video conference system will be available at each of the 99 Bavarian civil and criminal courts.
According to the ministry, the Microsoft Teams program is being tested in civil court negotiations at three regional courts - including the Munich I regional court - as part of a pilot project.
So far, the technology has mainly been used in civil law.
Bavaria's Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (CSU) calls for opportunities to be expanded in criminal law too.
"If witnesses cannot appear in the courtroom because of quarantine measures, belonging to a risk group or travel restrictions, they should be able to be heard on video at the main hearing," he said.
"This is where the Federal Ministry of Justice comes in."