Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo paid tribute to the judiciary’s legal researchers whose work makes it easier and expeditious for judges to resolve cases.
Gesmundo addressed more than 300 legal researchers during their 14th Biennial National Convention and Seminar at the Palacio del Sur Convention Center, Marcian Garden Hotel, Zamboanga City.
The three-day convention that started last Feb. 15 is under the theme “Strengthening Legal Research Amidst Challenges and Adversities.”
The participants are officers and members of the Court Legal Researchers Association of the Philippines (CLERAP).
In his message, Chief Justice Gesmundo cited the five-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) which would “significantly improve the productivity of the courts, including the work done by court legal researchers.”
“The SPJI will, among others, allow us to ride this wave of technological advancement, capitalizing on artificial intelligence (AI) not just for court operations, but also for legal research. This, in turn, will facilitate the speedy disposition of cases,” Gesmundo said.
“As the SPJI notes, in other jurisdictions, AI-powered applications are already being used in two particular areas of law and
the administration of justice -- AI-enabled transcription to support court stenography, and AI-powered tools to aid legal researchers,” he said.
He described court legal research as “so often like looking for a needle in haystacks upon haystacks and AI could be the magnet that makes that search faster and easier, to the benefit of the people that we ultimately serve.”
He pointed out that “through artificial intelligence, the SPJI will enable faster and easier access to legal references, and will usher in the redevelopment of the Judiciary ELibrary, which will include AI-enabled tech to improve its legal research capabilities.”
He explained that “through natural language processing – the same technology behind ChatGPT-- we will install a search engine that will provide more accurate and reliable results; using machine learning, search algorithms will constantly self-improve based on the feedback of users.”
“AI-enabled tech will also generate analysis based on words and phrases, including their context, from previous cases or legal precedents, and predict and suggest possible outcomes for new cases,” he also said.
He urged the legal researchers: “Today I call on you to fully embrace technology in this undertaking and in the performance of your duties. Harness it to work more efficiently and expeditiously and invest in the skills and resources needed to enable the shift that we envision. Be active agents of reform, bearing in mind that these innovations are meant not to supplant us, but to support us, and, in turn, those who rely on us and our work.”
For his part, Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando stressed the value of court legal researchers. He said: “Legal research is the foundation and an essential aspect of justice. It examines applicable law, relevant opinions, and ideas.”
Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho Jr., on the other hand, referred to court legal researchers as “battle-hardened warriors whose wisdom and experience will be useful in the crafting of policies and protocols for the betterment of the whole judiciary.”
Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Technology Officer Atty. Jed Sherwin G. Uy gave a presentation on the SC’s plans for modernization of court processes, including the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) and the Financial Management Information System (FMIS).
The modernized HRIS, targeted to be rolled out in the first and second-level courts within the last quarter of 2023, will “provide a facility to submit and receive job applications online, see their status, and see where they are pending.”
The upgraded FMIS, on the other hand, will allow “the finance offices to quickly compute salaries and deductions based on prevailing schedules, process them individually as they come instead of doing per batch, and timely release salaries and allowances, and retirement benefits.”
The photograph and summary of the messages during CLERAP’s convention were provided by the SC’s public information office (PIO).
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