- NRW justice system working only with restrictions due to power failure
Issue at a Computing Center Impedes Work of the Justice System in North Rhine-Westphalia
A power outage in Münster overnight is causing issues for the Justice system in North Rhine-Westphalia. A spokesperson for the Higher Regional Court in Cologne, to which the central IT service provider of the justice system belongs, confirmed this. As a result, the central computing center of the NRW justice system, located in Münster, was shut down. Experts are now checking for any technical damage to the servers. "The problem is that the servers have been shut down and they can't just be turned back on without being checked first." The goal is to get the systems up and running as soon as possible.
"Major Disruption" at Court
The outage has led to restrictions in electronic communication, including at courts. The Higher Administrative Court in Münster stated on its website that it is currently not reachable via the so-called Electronic Court and Administration Mailbox (EGVP). Applications, lawsuits, and legal documents cannot be submitted this way. There is a "major disruption".
However, there is no total outage, the spokesperson for the Cologne Higher Regional Court explained. "For example, the court sessions are functioning," he said. Electronic files are locally secured for sessions and are therefore accessible. Video conferencing systems are also functioning.
Despite the efforts to restore the servers quickly, the current situation at the computing center is leading to a significant level of failure in the electronic communication within the justice system. The Higher Administrative Court in Münster, unfortunately, has experienced such a failure in their Electronic Court and Administration Mailbox, impacting the submission of applications, lawsuits, and legal documents.
