If the Australian legal system were to
adopt the use of social media than many benefits may be possibly reaped in the
due process ranging from diminishing confidence of the public in the judicial
system, the distorting of information by the media and journalists and an
increased sense of communication between both parties, the courts and the
community. The Supreme Court of Victoria has embraced the use of social media
to ensure a fundamental tenet of Australian democracy is fulfilled — “that
justice is not only done, but is also seen to be done”.
The Victorian Supreme Court, being one
of the limited few in Australia to adopt social media, is engaging with Twitter
and other social media tools actively, including by making trials and oral
judgments available online through the Court’s website. Furthermore, Twitter
has been used in the past to respond to criticism of the Court and publicity to
present the Court’s perspective. As a result in due course the use of social
media by the Victorian Supreme Court has the potential to significantly improve
the accessibility of the Court and the transparency of its processes.
If other jurisdictions within Australia
choose to use social media, they too can benefit in a myriad of ways. They may
be able to conserve resources through the provision of immediate information
through the means of mediums such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, place
information into its proper context, communicate more so easily and promptly
with the public and ensure the judicial system is portrayed as being
transparent, efficient and timely. However an important to be brought forth to
light is that more traditional forms of communication should still take
precedence for connecting with the broader community, as the public at large is
yet to discover that information is available through these mediums if the
court staff do choose to initiate the use of social media.
Through adopting social mediums such as
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, the Australian judicial system “provides an
exhilarating opportunity for the Courts to tell the public...and why the rule
of law matters”. States such as Victoria have embraced new media technology to
ensure a fundamental tenet of Australian democracy is fulfilled and justice is
rightly so served. The Supreme Court of Victoria has been internationally
acknowledged for being among the first Australian Courts to proactively use
social media.
As technology changes and social media
sites grow in popularity, the Australian judicial system will continue to face
the challenge of adopting new rules to address the problems that come hand in
hand through the use of social media tools. The issue of digital injustice has
the potential to derail the very basis upon which justice is administered, if
not readily addressed in a timely manner to ensure the adoption of social media
by the court staff doesn’t occur at the cost of the hindering of the
administration of a fair trial. However, if the Australian court staff does not
espouse the use of social media then the court staff may potentially find
themselves out of touch and disconnected from society once more.
Marilyn Krawitz,
“Summoned by social media: Why Australian courts should have social media
accounts” (2014) 23 JJA 182.
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