Staff reporter

Litigants who appealed to the High Court (HC) could now know which bench and clerk the cases are assigned to, which would save them time and cost.

This was made possible after the HC digitised the court functions.

HC’s officiating registrar general, Tshoejab Mepham Denlen, said HC has litigants from 20 dzongkhag courts appealing their cases. “We had to develop an independent website to inform people.”

He said litigants are informed about the entire court proceedings through the new website they developed and adopted.

According to the officiating registrar general, litigants staying out of Thimphu come all the way here (Thimphu)  just to get the details, but with the digitisation of court, they receive message detailing all the information once the case is registered. “They could also easily track the cases and check their hearing schedule. They could also view the case schedules on our website.”

He said litigants would track cases through tracking feature. “We also now upload all the judgments online, which saves resources. It also has all the executive orders from the judiciary.”

Through the website, court officials also give their attendance online via biometric. It also has a feature, where it documents leave taken by court officials and check leave balances.

“It not only saves paper and time but makes court proceedings and administrative roceudres  systematic,” the officiating registrar general said.

He said that HC had conducted online hearings and rendered judgments during the pandemic.

The website also provides a virtual tour of the courtrooms to prepare the public of the court settings.

The website was developed with funding of Nu 350,000 from the government from June last year until March this year.

Meanwhile, the judiciary is also working on e-litigation, which is expected to be launched in January next year.