For about 15 days, the Jordan News Agency (Petra) did not monitor the physical presence of any inmates from the correction and rehabilitation centers to the Palace of Justice in the center of the capital, Amman, for the purposes of the trial, which took place via videoconferencing technology, which saved time, effort, transportation and long waits with what it carries. This waiting is sensitive among the masses of casual reviewers.

Over the course of four months, Petra tracked the application of the remote trial technology at the Palace of Justice, and it was found that the peak of this application in the Amman Palace of Justice was during the month of September, which recorded 1,257 trials, all remotely, bringing the number in all regular courts in the Kingdom and during the same month to 6 thousand And 741 trials for inmates remotely, bringing the rates of conducting this type of trial to 100 percent, in a way that guarantees the dignity of inmates and their human rights.

During the previous months, (Petra) had monitored overcrowding in the parking lot in the Palace of Justice, and the presence of military vehicles transporting detainees, but this phenomenon disappeared during the period between 14-29 last September and with it many of the manifestations that accompany this overcrowding, thanks to the use of technology Modern trials in accordance with the controls and guarantees of a fair trial.

Remote trials are conducted in a controlled manner and in accordance with the law, as the ruling body in the Palace of Justice is linked with the inmate at the reform center accompanied by public security men who record personal identification on the camera, in addition to recording the session minutes coupled with the name and number of the existing security man, and the judge conducts a procedure The trial is normally conducted in the presence of the inmate’s defense attorney, or the attorney of the complainant in the case.

One of the ruling bodies linked two witnesses from the United States of America and the United Kingdom to hear their testimonies in the case, and the defense agents asked them questions, which had several benefits, including not postponing the hearings until the witnesses comply with the invitation to appear in court and saving time, money and effort on all parties.

During the monitoring of (Petra) over the past months, it was found that the largest beneficiaries of the application of this technology are the inmates of correctional centers and their access to the most important human right, which is preserving their dignity from the trouble of moving between their places of detention and the courts for long periods of time under the summer heat and the cold winter.

The remote trial technology saves effort, time and financial costs for the Public Security Directorate, which transfers inmates from their detention centers to the courts, on a daily basis, seven days a week.

The second paragraph of Article (158) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and its amendments No. (9) of (1961) indicates that the public prosecutor or the court may use modern technologies in investigation and trial procedures without prejudice to the right to debate, including the trial of an inmate remotely from the center Repair and rehabilitation deposited in the manner specified in the system issued for this purpose.

This project came in cooperation between the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation Centers in the Public Security Directorate and the Judicial Council, and is concerned with electronic linking between courts and reform centers to try inmates remotely without bringing them personally to the competent courts.

The report of the Judicial Council on the work of the courts for the year 2021 indicates that the Judicial Council held 35,579 remote trial sessions in regular courts between 2019-2021, which means saving the state a lot of time, effort and money in this type of trial.

The Amman Criminal Court held the first remote trial session for an inmate at the Juwaideh Correction and Rehabilitation Center at the end of July 2019. The trials coincided with equipping the reform centers and courts with the necessary equipment, and providing the requirements and guarantees for a fair trial to accomplish this important and major project.

Among the guarantees of a fair trial stipulated by Jordanian and international legislation are those that refer to the publicity of the trial, and these are available via remote trial technology, confidentiality, the right of the inmate to discuss the prosecution witnesses, and his right to appear in court in person or before the public prosecution.

And due to the circumstances of the Corona pandemic, the Judicial Council had activated remote trials in criminal cases in 2019, and the first phase included 4 courts and 4 reform and rehabilitation centers, to reach at the end of this year to link all the courts and 18 sections of the Amman Court of First Instance in addition to the High Criminal Court and the Amman Court of Appeal. With all reform and rehabilitation centers, bringing the final total of courts ready to use this technology to 20 courts and 17 reform centers, and the number of trials that were held between 2019-2021, about 36,000 sessions, and the council activated, using remote communication technology, hearing the testimonies of juveniles and children in cases Sexual and physical abuse to spare them psychological effects in the face of the aggressors.

–(Petra)