R. 1:32-2A. — Electronic Court Systems, Electronic Records, Electronic Signatures, Metadata, Cybersecurity

a. Authorization of Electronic Court Systems. The Administrative Director of the Courts, with the approval of the Chief Justice, may develop and implement electronic court systems, including applications or systems for the purpose of electronic filing, electronic record keeping, or electronic indexing of data and documents.

b. Force and Effect of Data and Documents Submitted or Maintained Electronically. Data and documents, whether originating in paper or digital form, submitted electronically to the clerks of court or maintained electronically by the clerks of court in a system or application authorized pursuant to this rule shall have the same force and effect as data and documents maintained by the clerks of court in paper form.

c. Electronic Signatures. Where an electronic system or application has been authorized pursuant to this rule, and where the system or application is secured by an authentication method in accordance with the protocols established and approved by the Administrative Director of the Courts, an electronic signature shall have the same force and effect as an original handwritten signature. Once submitted to the clerk of court, an electronically signed document shall not be deleted or altered in any manner without court order for good cause shown.

d. Metadata. Filers are on notice that any document being submitted to the Judiciary for electronic filing may contain metadata, which is embedded information in electronic documents, including possibly personal identifiers, that is generally hidden from view. Filers are required by Rule 1:38-7 to remove all confidential personal identifiers from documents prior to submitting such documents for electronic filing. It is the responsibility of filers to remove any metadata in documents that they do not want to become part of the public record before submitting such documents for electronic filing. To remove metadata from a document after it has been filed, the filer must file a motion to remove the metadata or to replace the document with a version that does not contain the metadata. Metadata in a submitted document not removed by the filer is subject to public disclosure.

e. Cybersecurity. The Administrative Director is authorized to establish and promulgate policies and protocols to support the security of Judiciary electronic systems and the data in those systems.