4TH AIJA LAW & TECHNOLOGY
Conference
26-27 JUNE 2008, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Call for Abstracts
The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration in cooperation with AustLII and the
University of New South Wales is pleased to present the 4th AIJA Law and Technology
Conference to be held on 26-27 June 2008.
The aim of the conference is to discuss the technological advances that Australasian and
international courts have made in recent years, particularly in relation to e-discovery and other
aspects of e-courts. These include canvassing the challenges to judges, court administrators
and practitioners on a day-to-day level and more broadly; the policy issues associated with
technological change; the legislative and substantive legal issues; and technological initiatives
generally in court administration and judicial education. It is hoped that by sharing the
experiences of Courts in this era of constant change, and looking to the future, all courts and
the legal profession may learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions, both in Australia and
internationally.
The conference organisers welcome the submission of abstracts of papers for consideration.
While the emphasis will be on Australasian developments, papers which provide a valuable
overseas comparative perspective are very welcome. A paper may be on any aspect of the
listed topics or other issues related to technology and the law. Abstracts should be no longer
than 150 words. Proposals for panels of 4-5 speakers on a particular aspect of technology and
the law are also welcome.
The proposals should clearly outline the aspect of technology and the law and key issues to be
covered, the proposed title of the presentation and the names, contact details and position of
the presenter(s).
Potential topics include:
 Current state of Court Technology– e-filing, e-listing, e-discovery, e-callovers, web
based directions hearings

E-Litigation – including E-Courts; adapting Rules of Court to change, practicalities of
running an e-trial

Technology in Criminal Trials - different uses of technology in criminal trials; managing
technology in sex offence trials; jury related issues such as access to the internet, use
of laptops, use of other technology to aid juror comprehension; voice recognition and
transcript

Judicial resources on line, eg:
o Electronic benchbooks
o Using technology to educate judges
o Judicial chatrooms, blogs and podcasting
o Sentencing statistics online

Legal information on the web – including Court websites; User-centered Design and
Usability Engineering; privacy issues; expanding your web presence and making the
most of your Court website; access to justice issues; security issues; online access to
legal information

Current legal issues relating to courts and litigation, eg:
o Discovery – destruction of documents; scope of discovery of emails, electronic
documents, what’s realistic discovery; blacking out of information technology
o Access to court records (FOI and privacy issues)
o Republication of court decisions (Court policies, Crown Copyright, privacy issues,
web spiders etc)

E-ADR
o
o
o
o

Policy issues - where is technology taking the courts and tribunals?
o Is technology making courts and tribunals more accessible, less or more
expensive?
o Is technology making the courts and tribunals more transparent and more
efficient?
o Are Courts and governments keeping up with policy issues?
o Policy issues relating to integrated courts management systems
o How is interaction and communication between the Court and practitioners
changing?

How has your organization, Court etc adapted to technological changes?
o Bringing about a smooth culture change
o What have been the challenges and how have you overcome them?
o Courtrooms of the Future - research and networks
- Developments in the law and technology in dispute resolution
Advances in the arbitration and conciliation area
Artificial intelligence
Online dispute resolution
Legal expert systems
Papers can be refereed on request. The AIJA and AustLII will publish papers on their respective
websites at a reasonable period after the conference, unless any objection by the author is
made.
Abstracts should be submitted by email to: papers@lawtech2008.org
Closing date for abstracts: 21 December 2007*
* Late submissions will be considered if there is space available in the programme. Those
submitting abstracts or panel proposals will be advised whether their paper/panel has been
accepted as soon as possible. Those presenting papers will be required to register for the
conference. Details as to venue and registration will follow shortly.
If you are not in a position to present a paper but are interested in attending the conference
and wish to be notified when registration forms and the draft programme are available on-line,
please send an email to info@lawtech2008.org to be put on an email list. Developments will
be posted on the conference website as they arise: