Ricochet Effect on Courts: Analysing the Impact of Online Transition on the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Ricochet Effect on Courts: Analysing the Impact of Online Transition on the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Domestic and international courts are prominent actors of justice, promoting changes in society. But what happens to courts when they are forced to operate in a digitalized world? The pandemic led most judges to comply with the restrictions by holding court sessions through a computer screen. This article presents an analysis on how the online transition changed the daily operations of courts through exogenous shocks – such as the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2023) and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. At first glance, the solution is to hold sessions online, following the example of the United Nations and the Committees of the European Parliament. Although holding online sessions is a better solution than suspending or postponing them, this may have influenced profoundly the structure of courts. The article provides an example of both domestic and international courts to enrich this scenario of adjudication before and after online sessions started to be held. Unlike sessions held by other institutions, courts operate through specific Rules of Procedure, which have been affected by the digitalization of courts’ hearings. The article describes and evaluates several effects after the implementation of these online sessions, with a research design that includes a mix-methods approach with interviews, participatory observations and reports. It is foreseeable that courts may be forced to operate in a hybrid model – holding sessions both in person and online. To better function and continue to be actors of social change, courts will have to undergo institutional remodelling to adapt to upcoming crises and innovations.