On May 1 2022, the Zimbabwe Judicial Service Commission launched the Zimbabwe Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS) to revolutionize the courts’ entire case management lifecycle. This system was rolled out in the country’s Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and Commercial Division of the High Court.
Among the numerous features of the system, the virtual hearing capability (powered by Synergy eCase) has had an immediate impact on the operation of the courts.
From May to June 2022, around 34 cases were judged using the eCase virtual hearing tool, which has brought several benefits to the courts. We have conducted a survey among lawyers and court staff to understand the user perception and experience in using eCase virtual hearings. You can find the survey results in the white paper.
As with any large-scale system, there are a lot of challenges. In Zimbabwe, litigants and court staff possessed a low technical capacity for the use of virtual hearings. To mitigate this challenge, training sessions were organized to train trainers and end users, including court staff, e-filing officers, and litigants to impart technical know-how.
Download the “A Physical Court Setup in Virtual Space: Zimbabwe eCase Virtual Court Hearings” white paper to learn how Zimbabwe’s judiciary has gone through these changes and tackled the challenges.