Remote trial, where only Themis officials are in the courtroom, has expanded internationally during the pandemic. Then by using remote communication software, screens and electronic document exchange tools used by both judges and litigants, a large number of trials have taken place in Europe and the United States. In Greece, the specific litigation model is expected to be implemented as a pilot project from September 2024 with a number of proposed provisions in the bill to be voted on. Ministry of Justice determine the procedure for conducting telematic meetings in the courts of the country. The new model will be fully implemented from 2026.

In remote trials, the defendant is in prison, the judiciary is at their headquarters, and the lawyers or interpreters are in any place convenient for the smooth conduct of the proceedings.

The provisions of the amendment to the Ministry of Justice provide, by requiring the issuance of a presidential decree, the transformation of temporary seats into telematics court offices and the creation of new such court offices no later than the end of 2026. However, telematic court offices will be put into operation, experimentally, from September 16, 2024, a few months after the planned completion (04/18/2024) of the ongoing project of the Ministry of Justice (“Video conferencing services in courts and prisons and the provision of information services for the course of judicial boards and exhibits – electronic board”). Today, according to the usual practice, on certain days of the month, meetings are held in transitional places, for which representatives of the judiciary from neighboring prefectures and regions (for example, from Ioannina to Preveza) move. “Forensic telematics room is a remote location that functions as a service of the court, to which it is connected using remote connection technologies, for telematic meetings. In the telematic court office, judicial personnel, using remote communication technologies, provide temporary and final judicial protection and, more generally, justice services in cases falling within the territorial jurisdiction of the office,” says article 2, paragraph 3 (chapter B), about the powers of ordinary administrative courts.

It also provides for the possibility of remote interrogation of witnesses, experts and parties, as well as the placement of material evidence not only outside the courtroom, but also on the website of each court.

As Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Panos Alexandris recently stated at a conference of the Ministry of Digital Governance, in Greece telematic testing is necessary due to the geographical features of the country, which in many cases are not taken into account. ensure that the parties appear in court on time.