Sergio Vázquez Torrón, President of Ineco, took part in the fifth edition of DataFORUM Justicia, held in A Coruña, where he reflected on the company’s evolution as a contributor to the digital transformation of the justice system and discussed the challenges posed by the incorporation of artificial intelligence into this public service.
His remarks began by drawing a connection between the justice sector and Ineco’s origins as an engineering company established 58 years ago to modernise transport. “For us, justice is, above all, a public service. That is where the distance between transport and justice begins to disappear,” he said. To illustrate this link, he compared a court case file to a train: “If systems do not speak the same language, everything comes to a halt. Interoperability is, in essence, a matter of track gauge.”
Ten Years of Shared Transformation
This public-service perspective has guided a collaboration with the Ministry that began ten years ago with two assignments: the Technical Offices for Electronic Judicial Administration and development centres. Since then, the work has evolved from the digitalisation of procedures to Connected Justice, data-driven justice and, more recently, Intelligent Justice.
This journey has also enabled the company to expand its work across other areas of public administration. “Justice was our gateway into the digital transformation of the State,” said Sergio Vázquez Torrón. Today, Ineco works in this field with 18 of Spain’s 22 government ministries, in collaboration with the country’s leading technology companies and consultancies.
Artificial Intelligence and Institutional Capacity
The introduction of artificial intelligence marks a new stage in this transformation and was a central theme of his address. Its impact will extend both to the operation of courts and tribunals, which may use AI to improve case processing and reduce response times, and to interactions between citizens, legal professionals and the justice system, through new tools that facilitate claims, appeals and the defence of rights. “AI industrialises the intellectual and execution capacity of individuals,” he stressed.
This increased capability may help create more equal access to justice, but it also presents a new risk: “machine-to-machine litigation in a service already carrying a heavy workload”. Against this backdrop, the Chairman placed guarantees and trust at the heart of the debate. “The question is not whether AI should be used in justice,” he said. “The question is how we incorporate it and what safeguards are required to ensure it strengthens rather than weakens trust in justice as a public service.”
To address these challenges, Sergio Vázquez Torrón emphasised the need to strengthen institutional capabilities and the role of specialised in-house public-sector organisations: “Technology can be procured, but accumulated experience and a deep understanding of institutions are built over time.” In his view, the public sector requires its own expertise “to make better decisions, collaborate more effectively and make full use of all available capabilities”.
This theme of institutional strengthening also shaped his closing reflections on the legacy of digital transformation: “A major public-sector transformation should not simply leave behind better services. It should also leave institutions better equipped to tackle the transformations that follow.”
Solutions and Talent for a More Accessible Justice System
Under the theme “Transformation with Purpose”, Ineco is using its participation in DataFORUM to showcase experiences that connect strategic planning with the day-to-day needs of this public service: managing information, supporting professionals in their work and bringing services closer to those who need them. Its contribution combines strategic reflection on the direction of judicial transformation with demonstrations of practical tools that help turn these ambitions into reality.
The programme explores the strategic vision for the digital transformation of justice and includes sessions on the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership, IRIS, the judicial case-file viewer, and Carpeta Justicia. These projects demonstrate different applications of digitalisation, from access to registry information and case files to citizen access to judicial services. The agenda also features the Atenea-Prosecution Service and DDI and the Bolivian Prosecution Service projects, alongside a panel of cybersecurity experts, an essential area for protecting information and ensuring the reliability of digital systems.
This focus on people’s needs also extends to the University DATAthon, which Ineco is once again supporting. This year’s challenge invites participants to develop technological solutions that improve access to justice for older people, children and young people, and neurodivergent individuals. University talent is therefore being channelled into proposals aimed at reducing the barriers these groups face when engaging with public administration.
The challenge begins with a fundamental question: what does each person need in order to understand procedures, access services and exercise their rights? It is an approach that links innovation with public value and reflects the purpose underpinning Ineco’s participation in the event: turning knowledge and technology into tangible improvements for citizens.
