Rule of law, judicial system and covid-19: a window of opportunity for the judicial system in Paraguay

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures have caused the temporary interruption of most services provided by the justice systems. To continue with their activities, these institutions have made use e Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Based on the multiple streams approach, developed by John Kingdon (1984), the concurrence of three streams is analyzed: (i) the temporary interruption of access to justice; (ii) the actions of the Paraguayan judicial system authorities during the first year of the pandemic; and, (iii) the technologies implemented by the courts in Paraguay. For this, a qualitative methodology was used, through the review of secondary sources and semi-structured interviews with key actors in the national and international legal field. As a result, it was found that the Paraguayan judicial system knew how to take advantage of this opportunity to promote the digital development of the Supreme Court of Justice in times of pandemic.