Digitising Belgium's justice system is not working, say auditors

A long-running project to digitise reams of paper documents within Belgium's justice system is not going to plan, according to a new report by the country’s Court of Audit.

“The digital transformation of the justice system is not being carried out satisfactorily and its sustainability is not guaranteed,” the court said.

“The justice department is not fulfilling certain basic administrative functions. In addition, a transversal digitisation policy at federal level should coordinate the initiatives of the departments.”

The process to make the data transition from paper to digital began in the early 2000s, but it is not working successfully, according to the law body that monitors the use of public funds.

The Court of Audit’s 104-page report on the digitisation strategy is nothing if not harsh, citing inadequate analysis of needs, dysfunctional consultation structures and a general lack of organisation.

This transformation process, which started more than 20 years ago, has been delayed, resulting in a considerable budgetary increase over the past five years.

In particular, the court emphasises, there is still no single, coherent strategy to ensure the digital transition of the justice system.

The report also cites insufficient budgetary control: “It cannot be guaranteed that appropriations [setting money aside for a particular use], to the exclusion of all other uses are being used correctly or that the budgetary resources needed for current and future projects will be available,” it added.

Almost 500 external consultants work in the various structures responsible for digitising the justice system, according to the report.

The Court of Audit sayid that this massive use of consultants results not only in budgetary uncertainty, but also in a risk of conflict of interest and commercial influence on the process. In addition, it means that fraud risk is “not sufficiently controlled”.

Photo: Jonas Roossens/Belga