E-file: strengthening criminal prosecution and speeding up proceedings

Electronic files instead of mountains of paper: Saxony's judiciary is working more and more digitally and has now also begun switching to e-files for criminal proceedings. The Zwickau region is leading the way. Since mid-July, the police department there has already been using electronic investigation processes, and since the beginning of September, these can be transmitted to the Zwickau public prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Justice announced on Monday. The Zwickau and Hohenstein-Ernstthal district courts are involved in the pilot project. It should also be possible in future for lawyers to quickly access files in paperless form while the judiciary continues to work.

In other areas, e-files have long been part of everyday life. For example, the labor courts in Saxony are working with digital files across the board, according to earlier statements, and all new cases in civil matters are now also being processed electronically at local and regional courts. By the end of 2025, this should also be the case for criminal cases in public prosecutor's offices, courts and police stations. Intensive preparations for this have been underway since 2019.

"The digitalization of the justice system is not a sprint, but a marathon," stated Justice Minister Katja Meier (Greens). The launch of the digital criminal case file for the judiciary and police has got off to a successful start in Zwickau. This will make cooperation easier and strengthen law enforcement overall, said Meier. "With the introduction of the electronic file, we are one of Germany's pacesetters in the digitalization of the police and judiciary," explained Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU). "I hope that this will also speed up proceedings overall." Schuster assured that great attention would be paid to the necessary security standards.