UYAP has been designed in order to improve the functioning and efficiency of the judiciary and to create an effective and less bureaucratic judicial system for the concerned institutions and individuals. The project was started in 2000 and completed by the end of 2007. All of the judicial units and agencies currently make use of ICT in their daily lives. In UYAP, there currently exist nearly 35.000 users and 307.950.276 electronic documents, 57.240.073 electronic files have been stored to UYAP until now. In all of the units nearly more than 1.000.000 new electronic documents are being processed in the system daily. All judicial units were fully equipped with computers and other updated hardware, connected to each other by a secure network and given access to legal sources such as legislation, case law, bulletins and circulars. After a training period for IT skills and UYAP software use, all judges and prosecutors have been given laptop computers for case management and private purposes. All judicial units have been given free access to the Internet.
UYAP has reduced the administrative and communication costs which would otherwise be incurred in a paper-based system. With the on-line connection and correspondence in courts, expenses of bureaucracy and postal costs were removed. All information is digitally delivered or inserted among them. The processes and correspondence that formerly took hours or days can now be done in minutes through UYAP. While preparing daily, monthly or annual statistics of the judiciary took hours, weeks or months, thanks to UYAP it can be done instantly by using electronic means. Despatch of the files and works of courts and enforcement units are done and monitored easily and fairly by UYAP. Serving term of offenders can be calculated automatically by considering all related enforcement laws in detail. Miscalculations, discrepancies and time wasting are prevented. Judicial record database has been integrated with database of UYAP. The birth certificates, Land Registries and driver registers can also be retrieved online and instantly at every stage of the trials. All cases in courts can be accessible on line by judges without delay.
Lawyers and citizens can examine all their files, deposit their case fee, submit any document or claim and file a case to any court of Turkey through the Internet by using their e-signature. They can access and examine their case information via the Internet and learn the day fixed for the trial without going to courts. 
The SMS judicial information system within UYAP provides an outstanding service for the citizens and lawyers which enables them to receive SMS messages containing legal information such as ongoing cases, dates of court hearings, the last change in the case and  suits or dept claims against them. This system has transformed the vision of judicial organs from a conservative state demanding information from individuals to a modern state swiftly providing information to them so as to prevent unjust treatments and irregularities. It also increases the quality of legal services by reducing the usage of sources of budget and ensuring utmost availability of getting information, preventing red tape. Huge workload of staff due to answering enquires of citizens in courts has been decreased significantly. 

These developments represent the progress that strengths the confidence of citizens for the judiciary and shows ongoing improvements. As a result public confidence has been achieved in justice services thanks to transparent and rapid justice, aiding stability and peace in society and growth in the economy.

In UYAP the most updated technology and methodologies were used such as e-signature infrastructure. The usage of electronic signature paves the way for saving from costs, time and labour force in judicial processes. Procedures, among the branches of the justice  system and other relevant official bodies, have been totally integrated and automated on electronic signature infrastructure, establishing electronic office atmosphere that not need paperwork. Proceedings have been prevented from being repeated and also time and work loses have been reduced. Judges and prosecutors have enabled to be the integral part of the information society. Until now 28496 personnel have been given their e-signature. 
The other important technological contribution is the usage of video recording and video conferencing systems, set up in 225 heavy crimal courts all over the Turkey. Thanks to this system any of the witness, victim or offenders who live far away from the court, even in different continents can be questioned. Video conferencing means are also very useful for the human rights of children, vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses who may fear to give evidence face to face with the defendant. It also facilitates better access to justice for the disabled people, allowing them to defend their rights without going courts
The other extraordinary feature is the SMS information system. Thanks to this system, as soon as judicial authorities make any legal action as per their roles in UYAP, parties are automatically informed by a SMS. The nationwide obligation of using citizen unique ID number in every process is one of the features making it possible to implement this system. This is not a manual working system as it works automatically with specific software that prevents additional costs. This provides a perfect legal protection and alarm system for citizens enabling them learning proceedings at first hand. Citizens are given the possibility to check their cases without time and location restrictions ensuring full transparency in legal proceedings. It also accelerates the judicial processes. The system has decreased administrative and judicial burden in order to enable workload practitioners to focus on their other priorities. Through this system, expenses of bureaucracy and postal costs are reduced. 

Local area network and wide area network (WAN) were completed through territorial lines and satellite for which each of them is the substitute of one other, enabling uninterruptable service. Availibity to open code sources and standard technologies for end users allow the Turkish judiciary to develop independent, integrated and cost effective solutions. In due course, all hardware has been upgraded and also software is improved and updated by the own project team of IT department itself. Judges can reach to the system by VPN from their houses with their laptop, facilitating their preparation and research for trials and the writing of judgments. Central database was set up in order to collect and share all data effectively and economically to be called up by judges and court staff when needed rather than local ones which can cause data duplication and discrepancies. Structure is central as all data flow in to central units. That provide (money) saving, hardware saving and personnel saving.  All the data is backed up regularly to prevent data loss. Recovery center which is in action since 2005 , will be strengthen and upgraded untill the end of 2009.
UYAP is secure enough to prevent hackers and third parties to have access to the files as appropriate security standards and sufficient firewalls were established in the system. Only authorised individuals are only allowed to access information related to cases irrespective of where the information is held to enable sharing and open working.

Yes

Yes

UYAP provides state of the art solutions on the daily life of all judges and public prosecutors, court staff, lawyers and lastly for all citizens. Overall, it can be said that UYAP covers all judicial process and units and effectively meets all the requirements of the staff along with the individuals having resort to the various branches of the judiciary. All the judicial proceedings were transmitted into electronic environment enabling paperless Office environment. All bureaucratic procedures and formal writings were made in electronic environment, thereby avoiding delays and reducing mistakes, especially those related to codes of procedures, as well as ensuring some degree of transparency. UYAP reduced the administrative and communication costs which would otherwise be incurred in paper-based system.
 Citizens and lawyers can accomplish their justice related works through the internet without going to the courts. According to the latest figures, 37.710 lawyers have been registered to the lawyers portal, and 9253 of them use this system very effectively. Citizens can reach and examine their case information via Internet and learn the day fixed for the trial without going courts. They can submit their claims to court by using their electronic signature and examine their files through internet. They can also be instantly informed by SMS about any kind of legal event related to them without going to courts.
Instructions to other courts in order to collect evidence can be instantly sent and received on line. Due to existence of the standart forms, all the data are filled automatically into the documents like instructions, indictmans, hearing minutes, decision and others so as to finish cases faster and more efficient and not to wait for days. Through the on-line connection of courts,  bureaucratic expenses and postal costs are removed. The processes and correspondences that formerly took hours or days can now take only minutes through UYAP. While preparing daily, monthly or annual statistics of judiciary took hours, weeks or months, thanks to UYAP that it can be completed instantly by using electronic means. Due to the existance of the template forms, all data are automatically being received from the system and transmitted into the documents.
 Destruction of files are impossible because of electronic recording and all the activities are logged in the system. The performance of the personnel can be followed in the electronical environment. Thanks to Data mining in judicial field, it became easier to enhance research capability, to evaluate the impact of offender-crime assessment tools and to assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce crimes. The figures with regard to the files, selected specific crimes and the workload of units can be obtained in much more swift way nationwide. Dispatch of the files and works of courts and enforcement units are being done and monitored easily and fairly by UYAP.  Thanks to UYAP the judicial inspections can be tackled online and remotely. Creating, intelligent warning-systems which are not available in any other justice system throughout the world, user faults have been remarkably reduced and that led to fewer serious mistakes in judicial proceedings.
Electronic filing allows all data to be stored up-to date, accurate and ready with the click of a button, for more than one person concurrently. Thanks to online connection to banks which enable electronic collection of case fees, handling of cash is unnecessary which prevents corruption and bribes. Problems associated with handling of paper are no longer a burden for the judiciary such as non-filing and misfiling of documents, loss of case files, retrieving them instantly and need for huge storage places. Those mentioned developments augment the confidence of the citizens for the judiciary.

There are many personal quotes by judges, staff, citizens and lawyers in the English webpage of UYAP: http://www.uyap.gov.tr/english/index.html : 
Ahmet Alpaslan YAVUZ, a court clerk says: UYAP is a series of excellence. People ask for their files in order to have copies of some documents without the registry number of the file and we can find it easily through a search on the UYAP. Previously we had to check the whole registry book name by name. Before  UYAP has started functioning courts did have to wait for at least one week for receiving criminal and citizenship records of the suspects. Now we can receive these documents instantly from UYAP. Notification precedure was a mess through post office. First of all one should list the mails, dates, and other required information and finally one needs barcode or official stamp on the letter. Thousands of notifications cause some error and it takes a day to complete it properly. All this process is completed by UYAP without an error and lapse of time. It took for several hours to type the subjects of the investigation on the indictment in complex cases, but now UYAP automatically brings the information of the subjects on the indictment. In case of emergencies, paper based notification was impossible, but now via electronic communication notifications are conducted instantaneously. Fugitives testified in the neighbour court or they were included in official transactions in any court house without getting cauht, and it took for several years to finalise the case. Now UYAP has a database and if fugitives are included in any official transaction in any part of the country, system warns the officiers and fugitives get caught. We get rid of paper based transactions and registry books at court houses.
Altu BAYDAR, Kırıkkale expert user:  A litigant applied to civil court with his petition. When he applied and his petition was registered to the system from his citizen id number, it is seen in a pop up that he was arrested by different Criminal Court of first instance previously.  We might not have been aware of this warrant if the UYAP does not exist and this person might have escaped from justice. 
Gökay ÖZDEMİR, UYAP expert user says: Recording the all the citizenship knowledge details by using T.R. id number reduced the number of mistakes. While recording the case data, system finds if the person has previous cases, and makes the cases joined automatically and immaculately. 
Yavuz Karaaslan, Chief of Kozan Heavy Crimes Court UYAP has reduced the number of files overturned by the high court: I feel confident during my hearings thanks to UYAP as ı know it prevents me from making mistakes. Last day during the hearing UYAP gave me a warning that the defender has died. Therefore, I have dropped the case.  I am really impressed. If I am not reminded I might have continued this case for months. 
UYAP expert user Gökay ÖZDEMİR says: UYAP has accelarated the justice system in TURKEY.
 Sunay Gönenden, Lawyer  says: In order to connect and make use of UYAP lawyers portal I have taken my password 1 week ago. Now I can access and examine my files via internet from my home which I am appointed as a lawyer.. Especially at any time I can reach the list of hearing in a period of time all over the Turkey. Because of this list given by UYAP lawyer portal I found  the 2 criminal case  file which I have lost. What a comfort to work with UYAP, lots of thanks for the people who set up UYAP. 

There are so many novelties and exceptional features that show UYAP goes beyond state of-the-art. Intelligent warning system (IWS) is one of the extraordinary electronic service which prevents judges, prosecutors from making mistakes during the course of proceedings by displaying some warnings with pop ups on the screen. IWS produces these notices in labels on the screen to suggest some proposals or recommend some jobs to the users whenever they want or at important situations by evaluating data files. Owing to this facility 80 % of decrease is expected in the number of cases reversed from the Supreme Court on the ground of procedural errors. There are 1300 warnings like these that have been produced in the system so far and they have been presented for the benefit of the users. For example, IWS provides warnings if an escapees personal information is entered to the system no matter where he comes before any judicial unit. In the past, courts were not able to know whether the person before them is arrested by a warrant issued by another court. 
Electronic data flow: The Document Management System in our Ministry has been integrated and online exchange of the electronic documents between the provincial units and centre has been started. Correspondence between courts and other external units and citizens are to be transmitted completely into the electronic environment. 
Usage of electronic signatures is another indicator of best practice in UYAP as communication that is based on electronic signature is speedier, more accurate and cheaper than paper-based systems. UYAP has not only established a information path among judicial institutions but also constituted a new and effective line among the judicial and non judicial justice-related units.  Hence, there has been also set up integration with the different departments of governments such as birth registry, criminal records database, telecommuniation authority, post offices, police offices, land registry and some banks enabling online exchange of information among them. All the judicial actions in the hearing, random dispatch of files to the courts and communication is started and dealt with electronically, helping the court to be fully in control. The Software was designed in complete flexibility to enable the convenient usage in all courthouses whatever the size, type of work or intensity may be.
Citizens and lawyers can access their files and accomplish every kind of judicial transaction by using internet (citizen and lawyer portal) without going courts such as litigate a claim, examine the files and deposit a case fee. They can also be informed about any legal action happening in courts regarding to them by SMS if they subscribe the SMS information system.  
 In UYAP it is possible to get every kind of regional and national statistics instantly. The users, who have the authority to access to this data, can see those data simultaneously and make policies. All of the data are processed to the UYAP database momentary. Thus all of the data are integrated, factual, reliable and current. UYAP enables to monitor the performance of the courts; to assist the planning and organisation of court activities and the allocation of resources; to summarise the court workflow on a daily, weekly and monthly basis; to display the aggregate information on the court activities in different graphical views.
Global warming is considered one of the biggest threats for the humans in recent decades. UYAP is known to be effective in reducing CO2 emissions by helping to minimize the movement of people and goods and the use of paper and other office supplies. It is calculated that thanks to UYAP, nearly 8000 mature pine tree has been saved annually.

There were various obstacles for the successful implementation of UYAP basically ranging from lack of experienced engineers, resistance of users based on IT inability, slow legislation process for use of ICT in legal proceedings and a lack of determination and motivation of the users. However, it is proved in Turkey that with sufficient investment, a strong and high level of project management and determination of the policy-makers pave the way for successful implementation of e-justice. 
One of the most important obstacles was the transformation of huge organisational structure of Turkish Judiciary to the smooth functioning system. It is well known fact that it is very difficult to set up a nationwide e-justice system covering all judicial units. Turkey is among the twenty most populous countries of the world. The courts and other judicial institutions have been shouldering a very heavy workload. Last year judicial units had to settle more than 20,000,000 disputes which mean that one fourth of Turkish society resorted to public prosecutor offices or courts or enforcement offices. In order to overcome this problem the project was put into practice in two stages. The first stage is called UYAP I which is the modernisation of central units, namely the Ministry of justice. The second stage is named as UYAP ll which means the dissemination of the project to the provincial units. During the implementation of UYAP II, first of all project has tried in pilot units consist of 9 courthouses which had small, middle and big workload to test every functions of justice. Having proved the success of UYAP in these pilot units, UYAP has rolled out  to all judicial units consisting 134 central big size courthouses, 571 small size courthouses, 25 administrative regional courts, 423 prisons, within 2 years.   In order to roll out provincial units and maintain the system 371 expert users, 592 technical staff and 155 UYAP judges and prosecutors were assigned in these units to give support to nearly 8000 judges and 4000 prosecutors, 30.000 staff  nationwide. As a result all disputes in courts of Turkey without any exception have been recorded into the system and processed electronically by UYAP. 
Parallel to changes in IT, another problem was the continuous amendments of laws, making IT designers unable to adapt these changes as they need a period of stability. It has been tried to harmonise and simplify the procedural rules, codes and working practices according to the technological change. 
Another important obstacle was and still is the addiction of some judges to the use of paper. They feel that paper is still indispensable and more secure in the legal process, due to their lack of information about how IT works. They have been assured by the authentication methods such as safe identity verification of digital signatures. In addition to this it is technically a fact that the digital form of the documents is far more endurable and secure than the hardcopy ones.  At the end of 2007 all of the registry books and cartoons have been removed and were started to be kept in electronically.The other important obstacle was the difficulty of employing skilled ICT professionals and qualified experts and programme developers in the government sector due to insufficient social and economic rights. Many of the engineers left the department so as to work in private sector.  New regulations that provide sufficient economic and social measures for technicians were issued in order to prevent brain drain to private companies. A knowledge management strategy based on the teamwork principle rather than depending on individuals has been tried to apply in UYAP management. 

Same as the other innovative projects the resistance of the users to the new way of life was one the most important obstacle for UYAP. In the computerisation process of courts, the human element, judges and prosecutors who are considered the most conservative group in the legal profession, experience difficulties to keep up with the new developments. In order to overcome this problem some trainings programs, awereness campaigns, meetings and seminars were organised. While the computer literacy was only 5 % before UYAP in courts, it has been increased to level of 95 % thanks to basic computer and UYAP modules trainings. Furthermore they have been given distance learning facilities enabling them to acces audial and visual training materials through internet. In addition after being involved in the project and perceiving  the benefits of the UYAP in their daily routine as it dramatically reduces the labour force and time and facilitate the complex procedure, the usage of UYAP along with political support has increased significantly. In a very short time they had started to use the electronic environment in their daily works and they confessed that they wished to use that system earlier. Since culture change requires the constant effort of every actor in the judiciary, the participation and motivation of judicial workers was provided by open communications, clear incentives, promotions and awards. During the initial stage of Project it has been encountered with the lack of funding particularly for the employment of experienced engineers and programme developers in the government sector. At the end it is understood that using the power of technology can definitely solve or at least mitigate the problems of judiciary. Then strong government support has been given at any cost facilitating the speed up the process of UYAP.

Exceeded

Modernisation of justice has become an indispensable part of the eGovernment programmes, policies and strategies all over the world. States should take sufficient measures to provide effective, accurate, and swift justice for the public which can be enhanced by the use of ICT means. In UYAP internet based judicial services enabling citizens not to go courts for their justice related claims, document and case management systems, SMS information system and other facilities can be a model for other countries. All countries can learn from one another by examining the more advanced solutions likewise offered by UYAP for their own unsolved questions. UYAP complies fully with the E-Plus strategy of the EU which aims to establish a high level information society and remove the gap between the justice staff and the individuals seeking justice. Apart from these, UYAP case and document management system and word processor software were designed to be independently used by other judicial systems. Therefore, it is completely possible to import these main component applications to other United Nations member countries courts as they have already been transferred to other related institutions in Turkey. 
Compared with cross-border litigation in conventional courts, better access to the courts supported by online means will be less costly, easier and more convenient for both parties. The database provided by UYAP is being used by judiciary institutes, other private or government institutes on demand and the said authorities have access to of government and other eGovernment programmes in a more easy and effective manner. UYAP database can be connected to the central databases of other countries or international organisations databases and thus form a broadened network. UYAP has been ready for the Xml based integration. In this context, it is also aimed to establish links to the central databases of the European Union and United Nations member countries systems. Achieving this goal will result in secure and swift transition of international requests such as rogatory letters, extradition matters and transfer of sentenced persons. 
In addition to this, criminals must find no way of exploiting differences in the judicial systems of Member States of UN. Judgments and decisions should be respected and enforced throughout the Union, while safeguarding the basic legal certainty of people and economic operators. Online connection between UN institutions and national portals would play a vital role to efficiently realize these priorities and to make judicial procedures more effective and secure throughout the UN rather than using conventional methods. 
In order to tackle with global crime more effectively, in particular extremism and terrorism, the usage of ICT has a significant importance, and in this context UYAP constitutes a very good model. In the post 9/11 era, terrorism has become a real threat to modern society; furthermore, the criminals and terrorists have expanded their nature of attacks by using ICT.  The enormous flow of information by the internet necessitates more collaboration, which can be best provided by ICT as it has made all parts of the world more accessible. In a globalised world, to combat the international crime and terrorism effectively requires more online cooperation, such as the integration of national and international databases for which Turkey is ready thanks to UYAP. 
In UYAP, electronic transfer and recording of documents has reduced the need for the paper consumption and lawyer and citizen portal has decreased the need of going courthouses which prevents loss and degradation of forests that moderate climate change, destruction of habitat, pollution of air and water. As a whole it can be said that UYAP has become a good model for preventing global warming

The employees, who work in judicial section, were using very old technologies. Cases were being drived to long in the scales. It has been taken up long time to finalise the cases. The problems faced by the judiciary are complex, ranging from the enormous workload, inadequate training, information and monitoring.  Legal procedures were complicated and disorganized. When UYAP put into practice in courts, after the adaptation period it has become the indispensable for all of the users due to easinesses come with it. Judicial process took hours or days can be currently done in few minutes in UYAP. In addition UYAP saftware has designed with great flexibility which met the different working methods of judges. Each user was given the capability to personilize the templates according to their needs.  For these reasons UYAP has embraced by the staff very quickly. The users were informed that the created software is not the last version that they are obliged to use, on the contrary it will be improved according to their feedback. UYAP applications have been improved according to the feedback and ongoing support of users, as 10.000 demands of users for the development of the software has been satisfied so far. It has been explained very well to the users that teething problems may also be encountered during the initial period, as it is a natural result of every change.  In addition there has been a strong share of know-how, consultative discussions and collaboration between ICT experts and judicial staff. To prove the support of society, UYAP won in 2004, 2008 and 2008 TÜSİAD and Turkish informatics foundation (TBV) e- Government rewards. In 2008, UYAP has received a special mention in 'Crystal Scales of Justice' awards which is organised by the Council of Europe and the European Commission.

Turkish Ministry of Justice (MOJ) manages all judicial units and establishes a reliable, efficient and transparent judicial system in Turkey. The IT Department, within the MOJ, has the duties and responsibilities to establish, operate, and maintain the informatics system in cooperation with the units of the MoJ.  National Judicial Information System (UYAP) is developed by IT Department of the MOJ the by using the most updated technology and methodologies.  All the phases of the project are carried out by the Board of UYAP, who has duty to take necessary measures to implement project, that is composed of Undersecretary, deputy Undersecretaries and Director Generals. Project Team in IT department consists of Head of department (Mr. Ali Kaya), 15 rapporteur judges and nearly 250 personnel (computer-engineers, electronic-engineers, help-desk and programmers.) in central unit. There are also 371 expert users, 592 technical officer and 159 responsible UYAP Judges and Prosecutor in provincial units.

The most important factor is being a unique and nationwide e-justice system in this kind of such a big country. As a central informatics system, it covers all of the judicial units including prisons. All judicial processes, trials and correspondence were transmitted into the electronic environment enabling paperless office structure. The magnititude of the sytem is the other main factor that nearly 35.000 users log in to the system everyday and 1.000.000 documents are proccessed daily. There are also some extraordinary features such as intelligent warning system, citizen and lawyer portal, SMS information system, wide usage of e-signature, integration with other institutions and case management systems. These developmants have enhanced the quality of services provided to citizens and the effectiveness of justice. As a result, UYAP has transformed a paper based Judiciary into a smooth functioning organization, which is assessed by some the biggest reform in the Turkish Judiciary.

Application Development and Integration (Web services/EAI)

Security

It is believed that E-justice implemantations will become a priority topic all over the world for the creation and maintenance of an independent, transparent, effective, accountable, modern and capable judiciary. In this context artificial intelligence can be used in judicial processes in the future. The idea of the replacement of judges by computers scares lawyers despite believing the benefits of technology.  However, law is one of the fields of human activity that is most appropriate for the introduction of artificial intelligence because everything is determined with legal rules and regulations. In that case, all proceedings completed with the know-how of machines will be stipulated by lawyers. The ability to predict the possibility of success in any kind of potential trial may prevent unnecessary proceedings 
In this context it is tried to develop an Expert System Portal Development Project which aims to develop a web-based expert system portal within UYAP. In this Project, the user will access the information about which route to follow, how much fee to pay and how much money to spend during the course of law suits regarding the suit of damages involved. It enables the user to access the decisions from a suit for similar cases when s/he enters the key words and the required parameters that will appear on the screen concerning the law suit involved. Reports of similar cases will be extracted together with statistical information related; the number of lawsuits filed according to the topics; the duration of lawsuits; the number of claims that are accepted, partially accepted and rejected; the cost of the suit, the quantity of amendments, the amount of money paid to defendants

As IT Department of Ministry of Justice of Turkey, we are very pleased and honoured to be a part of 2009 Computerworld Honors Program. Even though UYAP has received many awards both in Turkey and European Union, it has been the first time that UYAP has nominated in an intercontinental competition. We consider this event as an important opportunity for the promotion of UYAP all over the world as we believe that UYAP deserves to be known worldwide as a perfect e-justice solution.  UYAP is thought to be a very good e-justice model for the judiciary of other states in the world. In addition to this, for us, being a part of the 2009 Computerworld Honors Program means opening up to the world and discover new partners on the way of sharing best practice of e-justice. This programme also paves the way for new collaboration and cooperation among the countries of world. As it is said in Turkish proverb "Knowledge could increase its value when it is shared with and transferred to others" we are very keen on sharing of our experience whoever demands and also learning other contries' solutions.