Brussels courts plagued by IT problems

French-speaking courts in Brussels continue to be plagued by IT problems that are delaying court cases.

Only two computers are available at the Justice Palace for lawyers and defendants to view the evidence provided by the police.

But while some lawyers complain about this limited number of computers, the French-speaking court registry believes the problems stem mainly from the software installed on them.

According to the registry, these programmes are "outdated" and "inefficient". Court clerks often discover technical problems at the last minute, for example a few hours before a hearing, while lawyers are waiting on evidence.

“The very frequent IT problems are all the more worrying given that digital evidence, such as mobile phone data, CCTV footage or files of wiretapped conversations, is growing exponentially,” said Anne Leloux, chief registrar at the French-speaking criminal court in Brussels.

The registry is calling on the federal justice ministry to intervene and appoint someone specifically tasked with addressing the issues surrounding the examination of digital evidence.

The ministry said that it was "aware of the challenges" and aimed to provide solutions at various levels, emphasising its investment in the systematic replacement and upgrading of computers, with priority given to the oldest equipment.

“A large-scale operation was recently carried out to expand the memory of the kiosk PCs in all court registries across Belgium,” a spokesperson said, adding that significant steps have also been taken towards digitising the exchange of data between the police and the judiciary.

The spokesperson noted that technical problems do arise when consulting certain documents and acknowledged the "poor functioning" of certain tools.

They also referred to "obsolete media" and noted that some evidence held by the registry consists of CD-ROMs or video tapes, but that these are not universally readable on modern devices.

In the longer term, the justice ministry said a fully digital registry should be established to “provide a structural solution” to what it describes as a fundamental problem.

“This project provides for the digitisation of all evidence to make it more easily accessible to authorised persons,” the spokesperson explained.

An initial analysis was carried out with funding from European loans, but additional resources and an amendment to the legal framework are essential to realise this digital registry, the justice ministry added.