Australian Embassy
Indonesia

Piloting Online Trials in Criminal Courts

Media Release

29 June 2020

Australia is partnering with Indonesia’s Supreme Court to trial new courtroom technology that will enable it to continue to hear serious criminal matters during the COVID19 pandemic.

Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has delivered the first of 19 sets of equipment to Indonesia’s criminal courts so the trial process can be digitised and conducted online.

The assistance is part of a pilot project led by the Supreme Court to trial the use of mobile courtroom technology in a number of courts from North Jakarta to Bandung and benchmark new equipment against existing technology deployed in the courts.

The technology is mobile – it can be shifted between court rooms, providing necessary flexibility in the conduct of criminal trials and hearings.

“This technology will boost the capacity of Indonesia’s courts to continue hearing important terrorism and transnational crime trials, despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19,” Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Gary Quinlan, said.

“The pilot program will inform future options being considered by the Supreme Court to expand the use of mobile technology in court rooms across Indonesia.”

This partnership is one of a number of initiatives already underway by the Supreme Court of Indonesia to expedite digital hearings, including the establishment of an Online Trials Taskforce.

“The Supreme Court welcomes this important partnership with the Australian Government and we look forward to seeing the results of the pilot project,” Justice Takdir Rahmadi, Deputy Chief Justice Development Chamber, said.

“The integration of online trials into Indonesia’s court system can not only bring efficiency gains, but can also help the system to overcome future disruptions and to improve transparency and access to justice in criminal cases.”

 

For further details contact: [email protected]