Could Supply Chain Management improve legal proceedings?

The justice authorities in several countries are faced with the challenge to deal with an increasing amount of legal cases with diminishing resources. It is not sufficient that a final judgment is well written and given by an independent tribunal, but the legal proceedings preceding the judgment must fulfil a wide
range of criteria, including cost-efficiency and promptness. In this paper, the author aims to look into the production of justice, and relate it to an approach that is yet relatively unfamiliar with and in the legal context. The approach in question is Supply Chain Management, and the specific purpose of this paper is to discuss some of its aspects in the context of legal proceedings. First, the concepts ‘process’ and ‘supply chains’ are explained. After that, the legal proceedings are related to a holistic approach, integration and co-operation, flow, and customer focus. The paper will end with some concluding remarks on the implications for legal researchers.