Excessive formalism and a lack of feedback on the status of a case are some of the greatest issues within the justice system. After a lawsuit is filed in common court, the case is shelved. It is difficult to contact the registry office. To ensure a court document reaches a party, an assistant is first tasked with its preparation, then the document awaits a judge's signature before being forwarded to those handling registered mail dispatch. Such an operation alone often takes over a week. How do we at Ultima Ratio avoid all these inconveniences?

Because our process concept is based on the idea of a virtual courtroom, we decided to implement a well-known and extremely convenient solution—a case-related online chat.

The chat is a tool for simple communication between the arbitrator and the parties, as well as between the parties themselves. Once the case is filed, the arbitrator greets the parties on the chat and, after reviewing the claim or the response to the claim, has the option to request additional explanations. Through the chat, the arbitrator sets a date for a potential teleconference to hear a witness or agrees on details regarding expert evidence. Court-appointed experts in the case also have access to the chat. It is through this medium that they respond to questions and challenges concerning the opinions presented.

The parties thus 'converse' on the chat as they would during a session in a real courtroom.

However, that is not all—thanks to the chat, parties have constant access to feedback on the status of the case. They can ask the arbitrator at any time if there are any additional expectations towards them, when they might expect a judgment, etc. Finally, on the chat, parties can engage in settlement talks, discuss, present arguments, and provide explanations.

How does the chat work technically?

The chat is assigned exclusively to one case. Parties can use it instead of communicating with the opponent through company emails or mobile phones. It is active from the moment the case is initiated and operates in real-time. This allows for discussions as if using a standard internet messenger.

Our chat appears similar. It is conveniently located on the right-hand side of the case profile.
For more heated discussions, it can of course be expanded. In the future—if reality shows there is a need for it—the chat will receive a video call feature. For now, it is visible to all participants of the given case. It cannot be used to discuss with another case participant in so-called 'private' mode. Nor can entries be retracted or deleted.

Of course, the entire chat will be archived, and all users will have immediate access to it.

In the Ultima Ratio mobile app, the chat also has a 'push' notification feature. Thanks to this, users are informed about received messages without needing to open the app.