Uruguayan lawyers call for online proceedings during pandemic

Uruguayan law firms are calling for proceedings to be carried out online during the recess caused by the Covid-19 pandemic so that pending cases can be followed through and lawyers can receive payments for their counsel.

Speaking to Radio Sarandí, the president of Uruguay’s Colegio de Abogados, Diego Pescadere (pictured), said that online proceedings need to be implemented so as not to affect the rights of persons who are currently involved in legal proceedings.

Proceedings can resume gradually using digital platforms, Pescadere said, adding that the Colegio de Abogados has received hundreds of requests from lawyers for proceedings to be resumed since the recess was announced on 14 March by the Suprrme Court, and which had initially been due to end after the Easter break.

In an interview with local daily El País, Pescadere said that small law firms and independent lawyers are facing a difficult economic situation as a result of the recess in proceedings.

“This phenomenon has occured in all countries affected by the coronavirus,” Pescadere told El País. “The judicial powers have had to suspend activiies and enter into a recess. But as we don’t know how long this situation will last, countries are implementing measures so that proceedings that would normally take place in court are being carried out via technological means, and this is the only way that we can cease denying justice to people whose legal situation will otherwise be prolonged for months.”

Many lawyers have a relatively low income and one measure that the Colegio de Abogados is considering is to propose a system of subsidies so that affected lawyers can receive that while they are inactive, he said.

The other option is to urge remote proceedings, he added.

He acknowledged that such a move, to carry out proceedings remotely via the Internet, brings its challenges, however.

“It’s a complex theme, for which human and material resources are required, as well as the participation of diverse players,” he said. “The Judiciary has made significant advances [in that respect]. But it is difficult to implement some measures precisey because of the emergency that we are experiencing. We lawyers must also learn and get used to this new reality. The pandemic will not wait for us. In order to return to our acivities we need to familiarise ourselves with new technologies, the digital signing of documents, and holding tribunals remotely. But what just a few months ago sounded like something out of science fiction, today is the only way that we can work quickly.”