Report No. 127

Microfilm

3.42. The use of microfilm is another method to effectuate an efficient handling of court records to make better use of court facilities and personnel. The advantages of such a system are several, more storage space is available for court records; the handling of court records is facilitated; less danger of loss or tampering of documents; and it allows for more efficient.use of court personnel .1 (To be precise, the microfilm acts as a security measure for preventing loss or alteration of documents by having two rolls of film processed. The negative is immediately provided to State archives and the positive roll is sent to the court to be filed).2

1. E. Tennessey Architectural and Electronic Innovations for Improving Court House Administrative Efficiency, 6 Suffolk University Law Review, 1001.

2. Id., footnote 81.

3.43. Microfilming is adopted for many courts abroad but its use must be selective and cautiously judged. Microfilm can also create blurred, hard to read copy, and deteriorate with time. The user, therefore, must be informed and discriminating in applying this technology. There are other sophisticated technologies to preserve court records, such as introducing filing system and colour coding to facilitate easy storage and retrieval, etc. Each court must decide what is available in the market and what can best suit its needs.