Abstract
The development of the remote justice paradigm plays a key role in the digitalisation of criminal proceedings as provided for by Legislative Decree n. 150 of 2022. Taking advantage of the experience gained during the COVID-19 pandemic, when audiovisual links demonstrated their potential in terms of time savings and efficiency for the judicial system, the legislator decided to make participation by videoconference a stable and general alternative to in-presence participation for a wide range of acts and hearings (including the taking of evidence) provided that persons concerned give their consent. After reviewing the milestones in the evolution of the meaning and scope of remote justice within the realm of the Italian criminal procedure the paper attempts to answer two questions: how does the new legislation fit into the academic and jurisprudential debate developed on the subject over the years? Is the current framework able to combine efficiency and guarantees in a satisfactory way?
Keywords
Remote justice; participation by videoconference; virtual hearing; defense rights; right to confrontation