The Implications of Audio/Video Conference Systems on the Administration of Justice at the Malaysian Courts

The audio/video conference systems (AVS) enable parties from distinct locations to „meet‟ synchronously in achieving certain objectives. Medical practitioners, accounting firms, businessmen, to name a few, have long resorted to AVS in their everyday routines. Recently, the courts in many parts of the world, including the Malaysian courts, have started to engage in AVS in solving any disputes. Despite this development, local literature is still scarce on this subject matter, and the adoption of AVS is rather recent in the Malaysian context. Hence, this paper seeks to highlight the implications of such technologies, particularly in enhancing the administration of justice at the Malaysian Courts. The study adopts a qualitative method, engaging in two multiple-embedded case studies involving a High Court in West Malaysia and a High Court in East Malaysia using the instrument of semi-structured interviews. The data generated from the case studies were analysed using the computer-aided qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti version 8.4. The study found that there is a huge potential for the Malaysian courts to adopt AVS in solving any disputes, as it would significantly save time, money and resources. Most importantly, AVS is proven to improve people‟s access to justice, particularly those in the rural areas. On the other hand, the engagement of the AVS system also posed some challenges such as enhancement of cost and training requirements for the court personnel as well as for the solicitors. Additionally, there seems to be an inadequate regulatory framework to govern the use of AVS at the Malaysian courts. The significance of this study is that it would assist the courts and the Malaysian Bar in appreciating the implications of the AVS on the administration of justice at the Malaysian Courts. Hence, proper guidelines should be in place for users of AVS for proper usage at the courts. Also, this paper would contribute to the body of local literature on ICT adoption at the courts, in particular on the AVS usage.