AN ASSESSMENT OF JUDICIAL TRAINING IN THE ERA OF DIGITALIZATION

Abstract

The Judiciary as the third arm of Government is responsible for the adjudication of matters relating to individuals, groups cooperation and the Government and between any person, group of persons. This paper considered technology assisted judicial training as a tool to enhance the capacities of judges in developing technological skills, problem solving skills and ethical reasoning abilities vital to the judicial function. Although, technology is not a goal of justice, the problems of integrity of judges and delays associated with court cases as they violate the norms of fairness and impartiality have led to repeated complaints by litigants and court users across the world. This paper applied the Doctrinal Research Method which is a library-based approach with analysis of legal literatures whereby primary and secondary sourced materials obtained from books, journals and internet sources were analyzed. The paper found out that despite the positive potentials offered by technology, they are negative effects on judges such as information overload and the mental burden of deciding what is relevant and useful. It also found out that they are specific challenges associated with implementing technology assisted judicial training due to limited access for those in remote locations. It recommended the creation of offline training modules for use in jurisdictions where use of technology is difficult. It is further recommended that implementing virtual reality simulations can provide judges with realistic scenarios to practice decision-making, improving their judgment skills in complex situations