If the Australian legal system were to adopt the use of social media than many benefits may be possibly reaped in the due process ranging from diminishing confidence of the public in the judicial system, the distorting of information by the media and journalists and an increased sense of communication between both parties, the courts and the community. The Supreme Court of Victoria has embraced the use of social media to ensure a fundamental tenet of Australian democracy is fulfilled — “that justice is not only done, but is also seen to be done”.
The Victorian Supreme Court, being one of the limited few in Australia to adopt social media, is engaging with Twitter and other social media tools actively, including by making trials and oral judgments available online through the Court’s website. Furthermore, Twitter has been used in the past to respond to criticism of the Court and publicity to present the Court’s perspective. As a result in due course the use of social media by the Victorian Supreme Court has the potential to significantly improve the accessibility of the Court and the transparency of its processes.
If other jurisdictions within Australia choose to use social media, they too can benefit in a myriad of ways. They may be able to conserve resources through the provision of immediate information through the means of mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, place information into its proper context, communicate more so easily and promptly with the public and ensure the judicial system is portrayed as being transparent, efficient and timely. Through adopting social mediums the Australian judicial system “provides an exhilarating opportunity for the Courts to tell the public...and why the rule of law matters”.
As technology changes and social media sites grow in popularity, the Australian judicial system will continue to face the challenge of adopting new rules to address the problems that come hand in hand through the use of social media tools. The issue of digital injustice has the potential to derail the very basis upon which justice is administered, if not readily addressed in a timely manner to ensure the adoption of social media by the court staff doesn’t occur at the cost of the hindering of the administration of a fair trial. However, if the Australian court staff does not espouse the use of social media then the court staff may potentially find themselves out of touch and disconnected from society once more.