Challenges
Many justice organizations worldwide use video conferencing to enable virtual court proceedings. While this trend has accelerated in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced even more rapid video adoption to facilitate continuity of operations amidst travel restrictions and health guidelines like social distancing.
The Joint Court experienced this increase in need firsthand. The court has physical courtroom locations spread across several Caribbean islands, meaning that even before the pandemic, there was a need for a reliable video-conferencing solution.
Therefore, the Joint Court was already using video solutions from Pexip. But, when the COVID-19 restrictions came into effect, it needed to scale up this facility and migrate its entire proceedings to a virtual format.
As a justice organization, maintaining reliability and security are critical considerations and paramount for conducting virtual hearings. The security criteria also needed to be balanced with the flexibility of using multiple devices and platforms. At the same time, offering an easy-to-use experience was another critical factor.
Why Pexip?
After testing multiple collaboration platforms, the Joint Court selected Pexip because of its high-quality video and audio connections. They found that other platforms did not offer a consistently reliable experience, and sometimes the quality would drop, whereas Pexip was always consistent.
The Joint Court's chosen system uses Pexip Virtual Meeting Rooms (VMRs) to connect multiple participants into one meeting. Parties are often located on different islands and even overseas in the Netherlands. Still, Pexip brings everyone together seamlessly, regardless of their location or what devices they're using.
Pexip's interoperability also means guests can join from devices such as a laptop, webcam-enabled PC, web browser, mobile device, or video conferencing system. The Joint Court uses Cisco video systems in their courtrooms, and judges can quickly join remote hearings hosted on Pexip using these devices. Integrating video meeting software with their existing Cisco hardware makes hybrid meetings between in-office and remote attendees easy and frictionless.
Another standout feature is Pexip's ability to set PIN codes and lock VMRs, ensuring that meetings are private and secure. The court relies on the Pexip Service, which leverages best-in-class industry encryption standards and complies with the UK's National Cyber Security Centre 14 Cloud Security Principles. Offering a simple and safe interface was yet another box ticked for choosing to use a Pexip solution.
