The Supreme Court (SC) has urged its counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to push for the adoption of a rule on video conference hearings, allowing litigants, witnesses and counsel to appear before courts in other jurisdictions.

Through Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez, the SC said video conferencing will “minimize logistical and financial constraints” involved in litigating disputes between persons located in different locations within ASEAN.

Justice Marquez represented the SC during the three-day ASEAN Justice Innovation 2023 conference held from Aug. 16 to Aug. 18 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The SC’s public information office (PIO) said the conference focused on the theme “The Rule of Law, Data, and the Future of Justice in the ASEAN.”

The Philippine judiciary maximized the use of video conferencing in court hearings and other processes during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic to avoid total stoppage of work in the trial courts and the appellate courts, including the SC.

Under its five-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) that was launched in 2022, the SC laid down guidelines for the use of technology in court operations to expedite proceedings in a move to render justice speedily, inexpensively and real-time.

The PIO said that during the second day of the Bangkok conference, Justice Marquez “spoke on the emerging justice needs in the digital era as he emphasized that ‘people everywhere, not just in the ASEAN, need judiciaries and justice systems that can keep up with the times and utilize the best available digital resources to constantly improve judicial processes and ensure efficient delivery of justice.’”

Justice Marquez said that the Philippine SC “is ever determined to carefully confront the (technological) challenges head on, as we

push for the full use of technology to keep the wheels of justice from grinding to a halt even amid the strictest lockdowns.”

The PIO said that Justice Marquez shared with the conference participants the SC’s SPJI which is “powered by an innovation agenda” and “designed to make justice more speedy, inexpensive and accessible.”

It said Marquez also told the participants: “Courts have a responsibility to improve with the times. As society and technology evolve, as human relations change and develop, so too must the courts evolve with the times.”.

“Courts must not lose sight of their ultimate purpose: public service. Digital solutions are not an end in themselves but simply a means for courts to better achieve their purpose of public service,” Marquez also said.

In closing, Justice Marquez told the participants that it is their “shared duty to pool (their) collective wisdom and map a way forward that takes the best of what digital technology has to offer and uses these tools for the improvement of courts for a more effective, efficient, and transparent rendition of justice in the ASEAN and beyond.”

The PIO said the SC, through Justice Marquez, participated in the conference on invitation of the Thailand Institute of Justice which organized the event in partnership with the World Justice Project “to prompt ASEAN countries to recognize the grave importance of enhancing the Rule of Law.”