Niedersächsisches Justizministerium

The Lower Saxony Ministry of Justice shapes the framework conditions for an efficient, citizen-focused and future-ready judiciary. Its responsibilities include contributing to legislation as well as the organisational, staffing and technical development of the judiciary in Lower Saxony. In doing so, the Ministry combines rule-of-law responsibility with the aim of continuously improving access to justice and working conditions within the judiciary.

One key focus is digital transformation. With the programme “eJuNi – elektronische Justiz Niedersachsen” (electronic justice Lower Saxony), the state is further developing the foundations for digital workflows in courts and public prosecutors’ offices. Electronic case files and electronic legal transactions form central building blocks for this. In developing and maintaining applications, Lower Saxony also cooperates across state borders. The aim is practical solutions that facilitate the exchange of information and support day-to-day work.

In addition, the Lower Saxony judiciary is trialling artificial intelligence and automated processes for specific tasks. The focus is on relieving the burden of recurring activities, structuring extensive information and preparing legal work. The applications are intended to support staff; legal diligence and human responsibility remain decisive.

One example is MAKI, the “Massenverfahrensassistenz mithilfe von KI” (AI-assisted support for mass proceedings). Among other things, it supports the analysis of case file contents, the evaluation of recurring information and the identification of similar proceedings. In administrative jurisdiction, TabeA and EMIL are being trialled as tools for handling asylum proceedings: they help prepare statements of facts and find and process relevant sources of information respectively.

Further projects address the anonymisation of court decisions, the automated processing of incoming documents and the comparison of documents. With CourtnAI, Lower Saxony is also trialling virtual training environments in which legal conversation and negotiation scenarios can be practised.

In this way, the Lower Saxony Ministry of Justice brings an important public-sector perspective to the Legal Tech debate: how can technological possibilities be deployed so that they create tangible benefits in everyday judicial work? The combination of digitalisation, practical trials and cross-state cooperation reflects a judiciary that shapes innovation responsibly.