FOSTERS delivers Testimonial at the ECSC E-Litigation Portal Launch and Press Briefing on 25 October, 2018

FOSTERS partnered with the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court to test the ECSC E-Litigation Portal, a new filing and case management court system for the nine (9) Member States and Territories under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. The ECSC E-Litigation Portal was launched on 25 October, 2018 and Renée T. St. Rose, Partner at FOSTERS delivered the testimonial at the ECSC E-Litigation Portal Launch and Press Briefing held at the ECSC Headquarters in Saint Lucia.

Renée spoke of the ever-increasing demand placed on lawyers by the fast-paced level of communication, by email and cell phone, the volume of material and documents generated as a result and the increased pace at which clients wish to have their cases prepared and determined by the court. She confirmed that she had tested, reviewed and assessed the E-Litigation system and concluded that this new system will assist in meeting the increasing demands on our legal practice and our judicial system and transform the administration of justice in Saint Lucia making it faster, economical and more efficient.

With this system, lawyers and the public will be able to file documents and deliver those documents to opposing counsel online, from the comfort of their offices and even their homes, at any time of the day. With scanners and the internet, documents are uploaded to the portal for filing, a notification confirms filing and informs opposing counsel that a document has been filed. There will no longer be a need to rush to a court filing desk for filing, wait on line, purchase stamps or deliver documents to lawyers and wait for documents to be delivered by opposing counsel. She spoke of the convenience for lawyers with offices outside of the city and particularly in the south. Payments are made online and court cases, schedules and calendars can be accessed and managed online. A personal favorite is the collating and filing of bundles for trials and heavy applications from the filed court documents that are already accessible in the system, saving significant time and cost to clients and law firms.

Renée contended that the transition would be more seamless than many of us would think and reminded us that we already read and review documents online via our smart phones, tablets and computers. She foresaw a transition thereafter to paperless office files alleviating concerns of storage space and disposal of boxes and bundles of paper with an eventual benefit to the environment.

Renée commended the Chief Justice for this innovative idea and the team at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court for their dedication and for keeping lawyers involved through the design and implementation process. She also thanked CrimsonLogic, the designers of the E-Litigation Portal for being patient teachers, taking on board ideas and for making the system practical and efficient.

We at FOSTERS are extremely excited for the roll out on this new E-Litigation portal in November, 2018 which could only benefit our administration of justice in Saint Lucia and make us more efficient in the delivery of our service to our clients.

Click here for a full copy of the Testimonial on the ECSC E-Litigation Portal.