The digitization of the justice system. Find out how Sii Poland experts for over 8 years have been supporting the development of the e-KRK platform and other projects for the public sector

The second and third decades of the 21st century are crucial for public administration. The rapid digitalization of several sectors of the economy, driven by the growing citizen needs and demands, has also contributed to the need for digital transformation in the sector. Sii Poland has been involved in projects implemented for public administration bodies for years, as evidenced by the long-term cooperation with the Polish Ministry of Justice, which dates back to 2014, on building and upgrading the e-KRK platform.

Digital transformation in the context of the central and local government administration covers the introduction of solutions that improve the daily functioning of all areas of public institutions. E-services, i.e. services for citizens provided electronically, via the Internet, are enjoying sustained popularity in the market. Thanks to e-services, users can handle a significant part of official matters without having to leave home, with minimal participation, or even completely without the involvement of another person. In an era of technological progress, convenient access to electronically provided services is no longer just a nod towards citizens, but a necessity embedded in the efficient functioning of public administration in a modern state.

National Criminal Register and the e-KRK platform

The National Criminal Register (NCR, Polish abbr.: KRK) is an entity that collects current data on validly convicted individuals and collective entities. Thanks to its functioning, authorities conducting criminal proceedings and courts can verify whether a person has had a criminal record in the past or is facing justice for the first time. Obtained from the NCR, a certificate of good conduct is a document required in the recruitment process for many positions, in the case of some by law, in the case of others – based on the organization’s internal procedures. Such a certificate is also necessary when applying for various licenses, concessions, and permits, as well as for participation in public tenders.

Due to the wide range of applications of information from the National Criminal Register, facilitating access to the data contained in it has become a priority for the Ministry of Justice. So that any interested citizen or institution can obtain the required information efficiently and without unnecessary delay.

Improved access and automated processes – Sii’s cooperation with the Ministry of Justice

The beginnings of Sii Poland’s cooperation with the Ministry date back to 2014, when, under the Regulation of the Minister of Justice on the mode of providing information about individuals and collective entities from the National Criminal Register via an ICT system, it became necessary to build a platform allowing citizens to download certificates in electronic form.

— In just 12 weeks, Sii Poland experts created the system which was made available to the public on July 1, 2014, within the deadline required by law — says Marta Przeor, Head of Public & Utilities at Sii Poland. – In the following years, we were responsible for the maintenance and development of the e-KRK system, providing stakeholders with constant access to the platform and continuously adapting it to changing requirements and legal regulations — she adds.

The advancing computerization of the state, the rapid development of effective IT solutions — both in the hardware and system layers, and the constant amendments to the law on the functioning of registers related to the area of justice influenced the Ministry of Justice’s decision to create a new version of the e-KRK platform. The conceptual and analytical work on the project involving the use of advanced technologies has begun in 2019 and is still in progress.

The scope of the project includes not only the online portal itself, through which citizens can request and receive a criminal record certificate, but also all the key components as well as the central part of the system, where the Ministry’s employees perform their tasks. Thanks to the solution, it is possible to exchange information with courts, the prosecutor’s office, and other institutions and EU countries. The project is scheduled for completion in 2024.

Support of the NCR and the Sex Offenders Register – Sii’s largest public tender

The tender for Support and Modification Services for the Sex Offenders Register (Polish abbr.: RSPTS) was published by the Ministry of Justice in December 2020. The contractor selected as part of the tender was to assume responsibility for the maintenance of the e-KRK system, the development of its new version, and support of the RSPTS.

— Due to the complexity of the KRK system and the high qualification requirements for the Contractor’s team, the group of entities interested in the proceedings was narrow. Eventually, all the companies except for Sii Poland withdrew from submitting bids — comments Marta Przeor. — We valued the project work at . After subsequent months of activities on the Ministry’s side, related, among other things, to the substantial assessment of the offer and increasing the budget allocated to finance the order, the choice was made in June 2022. Under an agreement signed in September this year, Sii began project implementation — she explains.

Sii Poland’s projects for the public sector

Cooperation with the public sector is one of the pillars of Sii’s operations, and the development and maintenance of the National Criminal Register is just one of the numerous projects for the Polish Ministry of Justice. Examples of such implementations include the development of statistical tables for the Ministry and the creation of a solution based on the semantic search for the Court of Appeals in Wroclaw. Sii Poland experts provide a full range of services for clients from the public administration sector – both national and local government, constantly expanding the project portfolio.

Explore Sii Poland’s offer for the public services sector. Contact us to learn more about how we support central administration, healthcare, energy and public institutions.