Information technology and time of judgment in specialized courts: What is the impact of changing from physical to electronic processing?

The application of information and communication technologies and management strategies to ensure reasonable court times in different legal contexts presents a significant challenge. This article compares the duration of 62,157 tax enforcement cases filed by public and private organizations in the traditional manner and in a fully electronic system in an attempt to clarify some of the reasons for congestion, because the stakes are high: in Brazil approximately US$ 415.1 billion pertaining to the federal government are disputed in 3.6 million of these cases. No significant difference was found between the duration of physical and electronic cases, and physical cases are occasionally swifter than electronic cases; consequently, the solutions to this congestion will depend on actions by the legal system, managers and judges, and litigant strategies.