On February 1st, 2023, the second phase of the Zimbabwe Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS) was piloted in the Labour and Administrative Courts of Zimbabwe. Henceforth, the filing of the applications, review and case processing including hearings at the two judicial institutions will be fully done electronically.

It will also allow both the general public and legal professionals to obtain court rulings, monitor the progression of cases through the system, submit case-related documents electronically, and make payments for court fees online.

Prior to the official launch, Synergy eJustice team delivered training to the court staff and other system users to familiarize them with the new system.

The second phase was built on the success of the initial pilot of IECMS in May 2022 that covered the digitalization of Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and the Commercial Division of the High Court of the country.

It is expected to pave the way for a nationwide roll-out of the system by the end of 2023, with the goal of transforming the entire legal system in Zimbabwe, improve the efficiency and transparency and enhance access to justice for citizens.

In April 2022, Synergy began work on the design and development of a Forensic Case Management System (FCMS) for the national forensic institutions in the Republic of Moldova, including the National Centre for Judicial Expertise, Police Forensic Centre and Centre of Legal Medicine. The work is carried out in close coordination with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, Electronic Governance Agency, and Information Technology and Cyber Security Service.

The system will digitize the business processes of the forensic institutions, helping to improve the record-keeping process and ensure proper custody of forensic evidence. Functionally, the system will allow the forensic institution’s key personnel to digitally open an evidence case, enter relevant information about the evidence (including documents and photos) in the case file, and distribute the case for cross-verification and acceptance. 

Following the inception mission to Chisinau, Moldova, Synergy is currently in the system design phase, working in tandem with the Ministry of Justice and UNDP Moldova. Synergy has also partnered with Enterprise Business Solutions, a Moldovan technology firm, to help provide local implementation support to the project.

The activity is implemented within the “Strengthening Efficiency and Access to Justice in Moldova” Project implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the financial support of Sweden.

The objective of the A2J Project is to contribute to increased efficiency of justice services and to improved access to justice for men and women, in particular from vulnerable and marginalized groups through enhanced capacities of forensic institutions to provide qualitative justice services, strengthened capacities of the justice sector actors to provide a coordinated response to men’s and women’s justice needs, as well as a strengthened civil society able to claim the respect of rights and engage in a constructive dialogue with the justice chain actors at the local level. 

Back in 2021, Chief Justice of Zimbabwe Luke Malaba who had led the Zimbabwean delegation to Armenia said this was “transforming the court system and radically moving Zimbabwe forward with digitalization and electronically filed cases.”

This outlook has been realized with a software solution that integrates the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Commercial Court, High Court, Labor Court, Administrative Court, Magistrates Court, Master of High Court and Sheriff of the High Court under a united structure, all interconnected with Synergy’s software. The solution helps automate and track the entire case lifecycle, from initial filing through to disposition and appeal.