The article examines the phenomenon of digitalization in legal science and law enforcement practice as a complex socio-legal phenomenon that radically transforms traditional forms of judicial proceedings. Attention is focused on distinguishing between the concepts of "digitization" and "digitalization," and the methodological error of conflating them is emphasized. Digitization is limited to converting information into digital form to automate specific procedures, whereas digitalization entails systemic changes involving the use of artificial intelligence, Big Data, and blockchain technologies. A comparative analysis of foreign and domestic approaches to the concepts of digital and electronic justice has been conducted. It is shown that electronic justice represents an intermediate stage of technological integration, whereas digital justice corresponds to countries with high levels of innovation adoption, where algorithmic systems already participate in judicial decision-making. China’s internet courts are examined as a prime example of the full digitalization of the judicial process. Particular attention is paid to the economic criteria for evaluating digital justice. In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the efficiency of the judicial system is linked not only to legal parameters but also to the state's level of technological maturity, the degree of cybersecurity, and the development of e-government. It is concluded that the digitalization of law represents a new paradigm for the development of the justice system, requiring a balance between technological innovation, economic expediency, and the fundamental principles of fairness and human rights protection.
digitalization; justice; electronic justice; digital justice; artificial intellect; big data; blockchain; cybersecurity; judicial system; efficiency; legal regulation; Fourth Industrial Revolution; classification; digital transformation; economic criteria
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