The Electronic Notification System of Resolutions in the Peruvian

Judiciary: Innovation in Service Models and Outsourcing

María Victoria Navarro Crespo and José Augusto Ochoa Reyes

Cybersec Consult S.A., Calle M ayorazgo Nº 149, Lima 34, Perú

mnavarroc@cybersec.com.pe
jochoar@cybersec.com.pe
Abstract

Since 1991, the Peruvian government has promulgated laws with the purpose to promote and guarantee
the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS) in the Public and Private Sectors.

The purpose of this document is to share the Peruvian advances in the implementation of an Electronic
Notification System of Resolutions in the Judiciary as a revolutionary innovation in service models and
outsourcing. The legal perspective is necessary but is not sufficient. Financial and technical issues are
fundamental as well in order to achieve real success in the general acceptance of the E-Notification
System.

In this context, the labor of the Judiciary affects a considerable percentage of citizens and has direct effect
in the legal stability and investment climate. Definitely, this issue is one of the most important factors to
measure the performance of any government. The internal and external image of a country depends in
great proportion of the efficiency and credibility of the Judiciary.

Keywords. Digital Microforms (DMs), Digital Public Notary, Digital Signature, Electronic Archive
Media, Electronic File, Electronic Notification (E-Notification), Electronic Notification (E-Notification)
System, Judicial Notice, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS), Judicial Notification,
Judiciary, Micro Archive, Micro Recording, Outsourcing.
______________________________________

1. INTRODUCTION

The most important ICTS Peruvian Laws rule the use of advanced technologies on the subject of
documents and archives (files) in private and public entities including concepts like Digital Microforms
(DMs), Micro Recording, Micro Archive, Transmission of DMs and Use of Digital Signature by Digital
Public Notaries that exclusively participate in or supervise computer based transactions or Public Notaries
with Certification.

These laws are complemented with the Peruvian National Standard for the Production of Microforms and
Electronic Archive Media which is of obligatory compliance. It establishes the technical requirements and
procedures necessary to obtain the Certification of Technical Suitability for the Production of Microforms
and its Storage in accordance with International Standards.

Regarding E-Notifications, by Law 27419, given on February 2001, was approved the regime for
Notifications by E-mail and the modification of articles 163 and 164 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC).
The correct title for Law 27419 would have had to be “Law about Electronic Notifications” because
besides the regular notification in paper allows the use of email or any other proper media.

Security is a key factor. This explains why article 163 of the CPC, modified by Law 27419, allows the
use of email or other proper media with the condition that the reception of the notification can be
verified or confirmed in a secure way. The e-notification must be solicited by the party in order to be
used in the procedure.

Regarding the endeavour of the notification by email or other proper media, article 164 of the CPC, also
modified by Law 27419, establishes that the document for the notification must contain all the data
required for the notice (regular document of notification). This information has to be recorded in the
procedure file annexing the technical report that confirms the sending by e-mail or other proper media.
Consequently, the e-notification is allowed in the Peruvian Judiciary jointly with the regular
notification in paper and has to comply with all the requirements established in Law 27419.

2. BACKGROUND AND CURRENT SITUATION

Preceding facts are important to understand the current situation. On April 2005, began the
implementation of the Pilot Plan for Electronic Notification in the Civil Courts of the Superior Court of
Lima using software created by the Information Technology Judicial Office. As part of this Pilot Plan,
electronic mail box service was assigned free to a considerable number of lawyers. This Pilot Plan – that
had to be progressively introduced in one year -- was widened for First Instance Civil Courts, Family
Courts and Community Courts as a way to avoid the great burden of traditional regular notifications in
paper of the Notification Central Judicial Office. 1

This Pilot Plan establishes that the General Coordination Judicial Office for E-Notifications, the
Institutional Image Office of the Judiciary and the Information Technology Judicial Office, have to
promote, to impulse, to empower and to guarantee the correct use and acceptance of the new electronic
system for notifications in benefit of the parties that intervene in the procedures pursuing an in time and
quality justice, the use of digital signatures, the payment of fees and judicial notices by Internet and filing
of lawsuits and other services by Extranet.

The Official Newspaper “El Peruano” has published recently an article from Judge Edgardo Torres López
titled “The Electronic Justice in Peru” emphasizing that Courts are advancing in the use of ICTS: e-
notifications, video audiences, biometrical signatures and in the near future the option to apply for a
virtual process in non contentious trials, the recognition of resolutions issued abroad (exequatur) and
others that can be followed directly by Internet. 2

According to the article mentioned above, Superior Courts of North Lima and El Callao use an
E-Notification System reducing substantially costs and time. The requirement is that attorneys
have to declare their decision to use an electronic mail box as the “procedure address”. The
first electronic notification was sent on April 2005 to attorney Ramiro Santiago Barbarán Vela
corresponding to him electronic mail box Nº 1.

Despite these important efforts, Judicial Procedures still delay years to conclude. The perception of them
can be described with words as uncertainty, insecurity, slowness and high transactions costs. Under the
new vision of what the Judiciary shall be, with the effective and efficient implementation of the E-
Notification System, those words would change to: certainty, predictability, reasonable deadlines, equity
and use of information and communication technology tools.

At this point, is significant and encouraging to mention that actually, the Peruvian Government,
jointly with the Project for the Improvement of Justice Services promoted by the World Bank,
are analyzing proposals regarding the Consultancy Service based in Quality and Cost for the
Contracting of a Consultant Firm for the Implementation of an Electronic Notification System
of Resolutions (Figure 1 – Front Page “Request of Proposals SBCC Nº 03-2008-UCP/PJ). This
fact reflects the serious political decision concerning the implementation of an Electronic
Notification System.

Figure 1. Front page “Request of Proposals SBCC Nº 03-2008-UCP/PJ Consultancy Service

based in Quality and Cost for the Contracting of a Consultant Firm for the Implementation of an
Electronic Notification System of Resolutions”
This concrete project reveals the importance of outsourcing in all the areas related with the
application of ICTS and Laws and the financial and technical commitment of international
organizations as the World Bank in the improvement of Justice Service Models in countries like
Peru.

Regarding other advances in the Judiciary, video audiences are already in use with the consent
of the parties in the Sixth Family Court of Lima. There is a case in which the party lived abroad
and the Skype Program of Internet was used to declare in the procedure. This act took place
with the participation of the Public Prosecution Office representative and its legal effects were
recognized. Likewise, in the Second Civil Court of North Lima, was admitted the use of video
audience in an exequatur process because the party lived abroad, saving efforts, time and
economic costs. 3

About digitalization, on July 2005, the Chairman of the Archives of the Superior Court of El Callao was
authorized to initiate the progressive process of digitalization of jurisdictional concluded files with the
counseling of the Information Technology Office. 4

3. COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TRADITIONAL JUDICIAL NOTIFICATION IN PAPER

AND THE ELECTRONIC JUDICIAL NOTIFICATION OF RESOLUTIONS

The next basic flow chart identifies nine phases in the Traditional Judicial Notification in paper (Figure
2).

Figure 2. Basic Flow of the Traditional Judicial Notification in Paper

1. 2. 3. 4.
Court Resolution Court Assistant Printing and
Attachment of
the Judicial
Notice

7. 6. 5.
COURIER B Notifications COURIER A
Central Office

8.
Procedural Address of 9.
the Parties Report of
Notification

The Court issues the Resolution signed by the Judge (Phases 1, 2). The court assistant is responsible of
the printing and the attachment of the Judicial Notice to the Resolution (Phases 3, 4). The Courier
Service Company A delivers the Resolution and the Judicial Notice to the Notifications Central Office
that contracts Courier Service Company B to deliver the Notification to the Procedural Address of the
Parties and get the Report of the Notification (Phases 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9).

The Report of the Notification is delivered by the Courier Service Company B to the Notifications
Central Office that contracts Courier Service Company A to deliver the Report of the Notification to the
court assistant that attaches it to the File in the archives of the Court.
Costs and time are excessive for the parties and the Judiciary. Regarding time, there are cases in which
the notification delays four months.

E-Notifications are usually made by Internet, directly by e-mail or by means of a Web Page.

Experts like Héctor Mario Chayer, are of the opinion that the alternative to use e-mail is the most
commonly accepted nowadays because replies in the digital environment the traditional procedure of
notification. On the other hand, he considers that the alternative to implement e-notifications by means of
a Web Page deals with the unrestricted access and almost absolute availability of the information
published in Internet. It has to be taken in consideration that is up to the attorneys to use the e-
notification system or not. 5

For Héctor Mario Chayer there is a third option that consists in the publication of Judicial Resolutions in
the Internet to substitute the e-notifications by e-mail or by means of a Web Page. The parties assume the
responsibility to follow the procedure. He considers this third option as a road to the future that requires
legal modifications.

The next basic flow chart describes the five phases of the Electronic Judicial Notification (Figure 3). It is
evident the simplification when compared with the traditional judicial notification system in paper.
Regarding the five phases, they are substantially reduced with direct effects in costs and time. All the
process of electronic notification takes no more than one minute.

Figure 3. Basic Flow of the Electronic Judicial Notification

2. 3.
Resolution
1. Court
Electronic
COURT Assistant Notification
Judicial
Office

4. Electronic
Procedural
5.
Address of Electronic
the Parties Report
of
Notification

The Court issues the Resolution that is sent by the court assistant to the Electronic Notification Judicial
Office constituted by a powerful Data Base from which the Resolution is sent to the Electronic Procedural
Address of the Parties generating the Electronic Report of the Notification (Phases 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5).
With this respect, it has to be taken in consideration that Law 27419 establishes that the reception of the
notification has to be verified or confirmed in a secure way. Moreover, the use of digital signatures will
be essential to guarantee security.
4. SUCCESSFUL PERUVIAN EXPERIENCE TO BE TAKEN IN CONSIDERATION FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF E-NOTIFICATIONS IN THE JUDICIARY

The implementation of Obligatory E-Notifications by Internet in the Judiciary would be very similar to
the MVNet System applied by the National Commission for the Supervision of Enterprises and Stock
Market (CONASEV). In this institution (CONASEV), 95% of the Procedures are Paperless; the Digital
Signature and Digital Microforms are actively used; the Process of Production of Digital Microforms and
the Microarchive are certified and the Electronic Procedures through the MVNet System are consolidated.

It is interesting to mention that the International Development Bank funded the implementation of
Paperless Procedures at Conasev in 2002 with the goal to reach the 90% of Electronic Procedures on
December 2007. This goal was reached more than 3 years before on August 2004. When the project
began many thought that it was going to fail but the implementation was a complete success. The culture
of the organization, enterprises and stock market supervised changed. Five years have passed with no
claims and no regrets.

5. AN ALTERNATIVE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF E-NOTIFICATIONS IN THE

JUDICIARY

At this moment, we consider that a Web Page Platform Solution is the best alternative for the
implementation of E- Notifications of Resolutions using PDF Format in the Judiciary because of its
availability from any place and moment and its potential for the further implementation of new
applications that will signify an innovation in service.

Examples of further applications are the Integrated Justice Services by which the parties will be able to
send their writs and communications to the Courts and even pay the judicial fees. The use of PKI
technology will be essential to guarantee technological and legal security to the interchange of
information and/or digital judicial documents with legal value by means of a Web Page Platform
(Internet). The final objective is the implementation of the E-File.

As it is stated above, security is a key factor and that is why this alternative includes the assignment of e-
mails to the parties by the Judiciary and a secure server. The communication by e-mail acts like an
additional alarm because the parties will have the obligation to enter daily to the official Electronical
Address to verify if they have an e-notification in process (pending).

Consequently, the legal value of e-notifications must be based in the completion of the law in accordance
with technical and formal requirements that provide security. Secure e-mail servers certified by an
authorized certification entity are needed with the purpose to guarantee that the resolutions are only
known by the parties (confidentiality). The verification of the identity of the sender (authentication) and
the certainty that the message is unalterable (integrity) are also necessary to grant legal value to e-
notifications. The sending and the reception of the notifications can be confirmed or verified. The server
registers automatically the time in which the email arrives to the e-box of the attorney. The time in which
the receiver opens the message can also be registered using a software application (Time Stamping). 6

The responsibility of the E-Notification Central Office consists in the reception of notifications from the
different courts and of the correspondent sending to the parties.

The use of Digital Microforms (DMs) for e- notifications guarantees four (4) levels of SECURITY
internationally imposed:

1. Physical related to the building, the equipment and the hardware.

2. Logic related to software.

3. Procedures of the Judiciary ruled in a Manual of obligatory compliance by Judiciary in which all
the activities are contemplated.
4. Legal concerning the participation of a Digital Public Notary that supervises and conducts the
process followed to obtain DMs and the suitability of all the procedures and rules within the
Judiciary in order to adapt to the use of these technologies.
 The compliance of all technical and formal requirements determines that:

1. The DM substitutes for all legal effects the original document.

2. The DM has the presumption of Public Faith before judicial, extra judicial or administrative
authorities.

3. As it occurs with Public Documents, the legal value of the DM can be sustained by the Digital
Public Notary before any authority.

Other important related laws are the Digital Signature and Certificates Law, the Regulation of the
Official Infrastructure of Electronic Signature; the Declaration or Statement of Will by electronic
media Law that modified the Civil Code, the General Procedure Administrative Law that
comprehends procedures and recording of electronic files using digital microforms and the Civil
Procedure Code that regulates also electronic evidentiary means.

Regarding these issues, is necessary to mention that two principles are the base of Peruvian Laws.
The principle of Functional Equivalency by which the legal relationships and acts executed by
electronic means regulated by law have the same validity and effectiveness than the legal
relationships and acts executed in traditional ways; and the principle of Technological Neutrality by
which all the technologies that comply with the requirements and results established by law can be
used.

In the context of APEC economies, it would be interesting to work together in the uniformity of
ICTS Laws and in the implementation of Innovation Service Models in the Judiciary sharing
technology and experience pursuing alliances in the legal, technical and financial issues.

6. CONCLUSIONS

1. Peruvian ICTS laws, legal framework and technologies allow the implementation of the E-
Notification in the Judiciary taking in consideration that the juridical and technological solutions are
compatible with internationally accepted standards.

2. The adoption of the E-Notification System requires the correct convergence among the legal
framework, the technological reality, the potential users and the organizational culture including a
training program.

3. The implementation of the E-Notification is the first phase of a revolutionary project in the Peruvian
Judiciary to transform the Justice Service foreseeing its integration with other internal and external
procedural acts through a system developed in a Web Page Platform that allows the interchange of
information and/or digital judicial documents with legal value using PKI technology (digital
certificates) that guarantee technological and legal security.

4. The best alternative for the consecution of the E-Notification System is the Web Page Platform
taking in consideration its potential for the implementation of the final objective: “The Management
System of the Electronic Judicial File (E-File) based in a Digital Intermediation System (DIS)
adapted to the specific necessities identified in the Judiciary.

5. The E-Notification System must seek to use secure ICTS that allow the implementation in the most
trustworthy way of an Electronic System that replies the traditional judicial procedures. The
substantial difference consists in the progressive reduction of costs and time in the procedures: years
/ months / weeks / days / hours / minutes and even seconds. These improvements assure that Judges
will maintain in an effective way the continuity of the procedures.

6. As the Judiciary improves the Justice Services through Electronic Systems all the other governmental
institutions will be more confident in their own advances in the ICTS fields.
7. Outsourcing and financial efforts are essential in the consecution of an E-Notification System in the
Judiciary. In this context, exchange of experiences, technical and financial support and analysis of
the legal framework are crucial for the success of any project.

8. APEC economies are an ideal scenario to improve Justice Service Models and outsourcing
agreements are a necessary mechanism to achieve success in this goal among others.

REFERENCES
1
http://www.abogadoperu.com/peruano-fecha-20050719-pagina-14.php
2
TORRES LÓPEZ, Edgardo. La justicia electrónica en el Perú. En “El Peruano”, Suplemento de
Derecho, p. 15. April 22, 2008.
3
Ibid.
4
http://www.abogadoperu.com/peruano-fecha-20050719-pagina-14.php El Peruano. Normas Legales.
Page 297126
5
Chayer, Héctor Mario. Electronic Notification: Alternatives for its implementation.
http://www.foresjusticia.org.ar/investigaciones/articulos/articulos_2002/Notificaciones%20electronicas.p
df
6
Chiara Galván, Eduardo Rolando. The Electronic Notifications in the Peruvian Judiciary.
http://www.ieid.org/congreso/ponencias/Chiara%20Galvan,%20Eduardo%20Rolando.pdf

_____________________________

* Cybersec Consult S.A. Lawyer, Digital Public Notary and University Professor.
mnavarroc@cybersec.com.pe; navacres2@hotmail.com
** Cybersec Consult S.A. General Manager, Lawyer and Digital Public Notary.
jochoar@cybersec.com.pe

www.cybersec.com.pe