CITIUS: the electronic payment order procedure in Portugal

Abstract

The present case study concerns the Portuguese experience of Citius, the system developed by the Ministry of Justice to achieve – an almost – procedural dematerialisation. The system’s background, with its various stages and applications, including the one(s) that deal specifically with small civil claims, are dissected over the next pages. After this brief introduction, section 2 presents the institutional background, offering a broad picture of the Portuguese justice system, focusing on the one hand on the entities involved in the use of ICT, and on the other on the courts from the civil jurisdiction specifically affected by the innovations. In section 3, we find the historical background of the use of ICT in civil jurisdiction, specifically addressing the regime of small civil claims. The outlined framework is followed by a description of the arrival of Citius and the system’s characterization, concentrating on its various applications and latest developments. Once again, there is a special focus on its use in small claims, with the specific case of the payment order procedure. Section 4 offers a more technical approach (in a narrow sense), addressing the system’s architecture. The daily functioning of Citius, with its virtues and drawbacks as experienced and perceived by actors, is the subject of section 5. In section 6, we offer a critical overview, bringing forth the most noteworthy aspects of the experience, discussing its panorama and future prospects. Finally, section 7 addresses methodological issues, section 8 is a list of acronyms and section 9 is an annex containing images such as graphics and diagrams. The Project is coordinated by IRSIG-CNR, having CES as its Portuguese partner for the Citius case study. The Portuguese research team was comprised by Conceição Gomes, Paula Fernando and Diana Fernandes. The information provided in this chapter is based on the research work carried out from until March 2012.