Time and significant resources needed to clear backlog of court cases
The hearing of 5,587 criminal cases (approximately 20,000 criminal cases were still pending at the end of 2019) and 1,388 civil cases is currently suspended in the district courts. The courts of appeal have suspended the hearing of 286 cases (roughly 4,000 cases were pending at the end of 2019).
As of today, the administrative courts have suspended the hearing of 238 cases and the special courts the hearing of 41 cases.
”Suspending cases has been necessary, but we have compiled a guide on the use of teleconferencing to arrange trials in spite of the difficult circumstances. We are doing everything we can to keep the courts running as close to normal capacity as possible. The first priority is naturally protecting the health of our staff and clients”, says Director-General Riku Jaakkola of the National Courts Administration.
The suspensions are expected to cause congestion in the courts when the emergency is over. Director-General Jaakkola estimates that clearing the backlog will take at least two years and require the allocation of significant additional resources to the courts. The costs incurred by the courts from clearing the backlog are expected to run in the millions of euros.
”We have already proposed extra appropriations for items such as new video conference equipment for remote hearings in the supplementary budget. The need for additional resources due to increased personnel costs will probably not be realised until 2021. We are also in the process of drawing up a national recovery plan for the entire court system”, says Jaakkola.
The directors of the National Courts Administration and the courts hold weekly remote situation briefings for discussing the issues raised by the emergency. The National Courts Administration’s Board of Directors has also increased the frequency of remote meetings to safeguard the exchange of information. The guidelines and recommendations issued for the courts will be updated as required.
The courts are independent and responsible for the arrangement of their own operations. It is the duty of the National Courts Administration to secure the operating conditions of the courts and support them in exercising their judicial powers to a high standard.
The National Courts Administration compiles statistics on suspended cases on a weekly basis and will publish them on its website for the duration of the emergency.
For additional information, please contact: Director-General Riku Jaakkola, National Courts Administration, tel. +358 29 565 0513, [email protected]
Published 6.5.2020