Electronic Filing System - The EFS Review

The EFS Review

In April 2003, The Honourable the Chief Justice appointed an EFS Review Committee to conduct a thorough appraisal of the EFS. This review would ensure the system’s continuing relevance, in tandem with the development of technology and the evolving needs of the legal profession. The EFS Review Committee made certain recommendations for improvements to the EFS, which were accepted by The Honourable the Chief Justice.

The EFS Review Implementation Committee (ERIC) was established in August 2003 to implement the recommendations made by the EFS Review Committee. ERIC was to oversee the development of a new Electronic Litigation System to take the place of the current EFS. This system would capitalise on the experience garnered from the current EFS as well as harness projected new and improved technology for the new electronic case management system. In this regard, ERIC was to develop a Roadmap Paper charting the direction of the new Electronic Litigation System, as well as co-ordinate with the Rules Committee to review and modernise the Rules of Court.

The first project which ERIC undertook was the organisation of the Electronic Litigation Colloquium, held on 17 April 2004 at The Sentosa Spa & Resort (formerly known as The Beaufort). The aim of the colloquium was to provide a platform for the stakeholders in the EFS to get together and canvass their views and ideas as to what the new landscape for electronic litigation in Singapore should look like. Representatives from the bench, the bar, IT vendors and the InfoComm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) were invited to the Colloquium, in order to obtain a good representation from the various stakeholders of the litigation process.

Subsequently, a Select Group was set up to draft the Roadmap Paper and come up with a blueprint to pave the way for the development of the new Electronic Litigation System.