Digital Preliminary Proceedings: Minimizing Conflicts

Preliminary Proceedings are a major part in modern day civil disputes in court. These proceedings have two main purposes: to prepare the case for trial and to reach agreements instead of the trial, in order to streamline and reduce the time required for the hearing, as well as to refer as many cases as possible to alternative mechanisms outside the doors of the court. The study will review the preliminary procedures at the courts system in different countries, their various goals, their advantages, and the obstacles they face. The effectiveness of one preliminary procedure, the preliminary meeting, will be examined empirically. To improve and promote the Preliminary Proceedings we will introduce digital tools – such as AI, documents repository and un-synchronized communication. These tools will reduce the burden and cost of handling the dispute in court, reduce the scope of the conflict and promote agreement beforehand.