Remote Justice and Civil Proceedings. The New Principle of Orality in the Post-Pandemic Era

The paper explores the evolving implications of the principle of orality in civil proceedings in the context of remote justice. It begins with a historical overview to contextualize the contemporary implications of digital justice in the information era. Then it focuses on the impact of digital orality on the principle of a fair trial, as interpreted by the ECtHR. It examines the right to be heard under Article 6(1) echr and Article 47 cfr and scrutinizes whether videoconferencing aligns with these provisions. The paper also compares orality in physical versus virtual hearings, discussing the need to rethink the traditional principles of immediacy, publicity, and concentration. It concludes by assessing the potential of eli/unidroit model rules to harmonize the reinterpretation of the principle of orality across jurisdictions, providing preliminary conclusions on this harmonization effort.