On Wednesday 20 October 2021 members of the Regional and international judiciary participated in a webinar organized by APEX as part of its Justice and Technology Series for the Judiciary in the Caribbean.
Justice Adrian Saunders addressed the participants on “The Internet, Law and Society.” In responding to a question, Justice Saunders described his December 2019 visit to the courts of China where artificial intelligence has now been incorporated in their justice system. He urged the judiciary of our region to keep an open mind on the future use of AI in the Caribbean.
Justice Margaret McKeown, a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Diego, California, spoke on “Judging the Internet.” Issues she touched on included social media, free speech, and privacy. The first internet case she revealed was heard as recently as the year 1997. But, she said, droves of internet related cases are presently coming before US courts.
Kevon Swift of LACNIC and Michael Abejuela of the American Registry for Internet Numbers addressed Regional Internet Registry Perspectives: Cyber Trends. They explained that ARIN was established in 1997. It is a nonprofit, member-based organization that supports the operation and growth of the Internet. It mainly manages and distributes Internet number resources such as IP addresses.
Sir Dennis Byron, Chairman of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, and retired President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, gave the feature address on “Towards Intelligent Courts: How to Balance Digital Risks and Rewards.” He urged that intelligent courts and digital justice require more than technology. He discussed some of the risks versus rewards of digital transformation for courts and addressed the safeguards that must attend the process.
Justice Michelle Arana, Chief Justice of Belize, led the round table discussion on “Considerations for Digital Transformation: Digital Paradigms and Partnerships – The Human Factor.”
1 November 2021
