Beis Din has finally discovered Skype. Getting with the times? Is it even allowed? What changed?

The beis din in Petach Tikva has decided to allow the use of Skype to make a video call in order to question witnesses during the proceedings of a divorce case.

The wife being divorced lives in France, as does the husband. She claims that he was violent and she is demanding the divorce. They are using the beis din in Petach Tikva, rather than one in France, because that is where they married, so they must also process their divorce in Israel.

I do not know why they must divorce in Israel just because they married in Israel, but that's what it says.

Anyways, the husband denies the allegations, so the wife had to bring witnesses to testify in her support. Flying them in would have been too financially prohibitive so her attorney requested the ability to question the witnesses via Skype. The beis din decided to allow it.
(source: Bechadrei)

Generally the beis dins do not allow video testimony - beis din must hear the testimony directly from the mouth of the witness, and video is not direct. They usually do not even allow video evidence. Video is often only allowed when it supports the other evidence already seen by the bies din, but not on its own.

Beis din allowing the use of Skype could open up new frontiers... maybe it will help solve agunah situations...