Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo is set to propose to the judiciaries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) the “adoption of common principles and guidelines” on the conduct of video conference hearings (VCH) involving parties and witnesses in cases within the region.
“As our economic interests, educational pursuits, science and technological advancements, and even our public health and environmental concerns intersect across our physical borders more and more, we will see an increase in transnational transactions, interactions and, predictably, legal conflicts,” Gesmundo said.
He delivered a message to his counterparts and participants during the 10th Council of ASEAN Chief Justices (CACJ) Meeting being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia until Saturday, Nov. 5.
The 10th CACJ meeting has 10 working sessions with topics relating to the application of information technology in the courts.
Gesmundo pointed out that “in the interest of consistency, efficiency, and mutual protection, therefore, a CACJ ASEAN protocol on the conduct of video conference hearings would be ideal.”
He said the Philippine judiciary “has successfully adopted the VCH modality for all our courts, including the Supreme Court (SC).”
“Aptly dubbed ‘a child of necessity,’ we issued Guidelines for the VCH to ensure the uninterrupted and timely delivery of our court services despite the continuing threat of the Covid-19 virus,” he also said.
He pointed out that “due to this high success rate, the Supreme Court is presently updating its Guidelines on VCH to transition the use of the rule to a post-pandemic world, making it a permanent device and option in every Filipino judge’s trial toolkit, especially for the best interests of child witnesses, for enhanced victim protection and prevention of re-victimization, for easier access to counsel and even family for detained witnesses and parties; and, in general, for greater time and cost efficiency.”
The use of VCH, which will be further enhanced in the Supreme Court’s (SC) five-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI), has resulted in the release of 132,916 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) with 2,120 of them children in conflict with the law.
In its meeting with the Philippines’ justice system stakeholders in Davao City last Oct. 24, SC Associate Justice Midas P. Marquez said as of Oct. 13, 2022 there had been 1,139,720 VCHs conducted by the courts nationwide with a success rate of 89.27 per cent.
VCH was pilot tested by the SC in 2019 and utilized during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 so as not to disrupt court operations nationwide.
Also in his message, Chief Justice Gesmundo affirmed the Philippine judiciary’s commitment “to protect the rule of law, to guarantee the rights of our people, and to honor our obligations to the larger community of nations.”
He stressed that the “Philippine Supreme Court stands in unity with our ASEAN neighbors in our common quest for the best possible future for our region.”
After two years of meeting virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CACJ members and participants are finally meeting in person with the judiciary of Malaysia as host.
Aside from the Philippines and Malaysia, the other ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
A press statement issued by the SC’s public information office (PIO) said that Chief Justice Gesmundo highlighted in his message the procedural rules promulgated and the projects undertaken by the Philippine Supreme Court in 2022, namely: the Amendments to Rule 140 of the Rules of Court, the Rule on Facilitated Naturalization of Refugees and Stateless Persons, the Rule on Expedited Procedures in the First Level Courts, the Benchbook for Family Courts, the Benchbook for Commercial Courts, and the Rule on International Child Abduction Cases.
It said Gesmundo also discussed the recently launched Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI) – the SC’s blueprint for action in the next five years.
It also said that Gesmundo described the SPJI as “a documentation of the roadmap for both our internal and external stakeholders in groundbreaking reform initiatives targeted to achieve three (3) objectives: Efficiency, Innovation, and Access, to bring about the overall goal of delivering responsive and real-time justice.”
Also, it said Gesmundo highlighted the SC’s “efforts to make the lawyers’ Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability up to date and relevant through revisions that include adding a chapter on the responsible use of social media, among others.”
Aside from Gesmundo, the Philippines’ delegation in the Malaysia’s CACJ are Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, Philippine Representative to the Working Group (WG) on Case Management and Court Technology; Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez; Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, Philippine Representative to the WG on ASEAN Judiciaries Portal;
Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao; Associate Justice Marquez, Philippine Representative to the WG on ASEAN+ Meetings; Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr.; and Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, Philippine Co-Representative to the WG on Study Group on Future Work on CACJ.
Also part of the delegation are Philippine Judicial Academy Chancellor Rosmari D. Carandang, Philippine Representative to the WG on Judicial Education and Training; Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva, Philippine Alternate Representative to the WG on Facilitating Civil Processes within ASEAN; Court of Appeals Associate Justice Angelene Mary W. Quimpo-Sale, Philippine Representative to the WG to the International Hague Network of Judges;
Deputy Clerk of Court and Judicial Reform Program Administrator Laura C.H. del Rosario, Philippine Alternate Representative to the WG on ASEAN+ Meetings, Chairperson, Philippine Permanent Secretariat on CACJ Affairs, and Liaison Officer, CACJ Philippines; Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Technology Officer Atty. Jed Sherwin G. Uy, Philippine Alternate Representative to the WG on Case Management and Court Technology and Member, Philippine Secretariat on CACJ Affairs; and other Court Attorneys.
TAGS: #SC #CACJ #CJ Gesmundo