The Philippines and Australia signed another memorandum of understanding (MOU) on programs that would develop and promote “deeper understanding of each other’s legal and judicial cultures, common international legal standards, regional development, and relevant emerging issues.”

The MOU was signed on Wednesday, May 15, for the Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCP) by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and for the Federal Court of Australia (FCA) by Chief Justice Debra Sue Mortimer.

Dr. Moya Collett, deputy head of mission of the Australian Embassy in the Philippines, joined Chief Justice Gesmundo and other SCP justices during the signing ceremony at the SCP’s full court session hall. Chief Justice Mortimer joined and signed the MOU online.

Chief Justice Gesmundo said that MOU has formalized a new phase in the decades-old partnership between the Australian and the Philippine governments.

“We cement a long-standing relation through new and innovative ways of bettering our court services and improving the quality of our justice service duty-bearers. This Memorandum of Understanding will cover an initial five-year period, and hopefully, will be renewed thereafter,” he said during the signing ceremony.

For the first year of the MOU, Chief Justice Gesmundo identified three groundbreaking initiatives – “the first on Competition Law, the second on Multi-Party Litigation or Class Actions, and the third on Administrative Support Functions for our Regional Court Managers Program.”

At the same time, Gesmundo said the MOU aims to enhance the SCP's capacity to implement its judicial reform program in accordance with its Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI).

Both the Philippines and Australian judiciaries agreed that their areas of cooperation will be identified and developed principally in accordance with the SPJI and the SCP’s strategic plan for 2028 onwards.

To manage and implement the MOU, the Chief Justices of the FCA and SCP will meet yearly to assess and acknowledge the implementation of projects and activities.

Chief Justice Gesmundo expressed the SCP’s gratitude to the FCA, the Australian government through the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and all those involved in making the MOU come to fruition.

Chief Justice Mortimer, on the other hand, echoed Chief Justice Gesmundo’s statement.  Aside from formalizing the “long existing relationship” between the judiciaries of the Philippines and Australia, she also recognized its strength.

Those who joined Chief Justice Gesmundo during the signing of the MOU were Associate Justices Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, Samuel H. Gaerlan,  Antonio T. Kho, Jr., and Maria Filomena D. Singh, who moderated the event.

Also present at the En Banc Session were Deputy Clerk of Court and Judicial Reform Program Administrator Atty. Laura C.H. Del Rosario; Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Technology Officer Atty. Jed Sherwin G. Uy; Supreme Court Spokesperson Atty. Camille Sue Mae L. Ting; and Australian Embassy in the Philippines First Secretary Paul Harrington.

With Chief Justice Mortimer in the same room when she signed the MOU were Justice Darren John Jackson, Justice Elizabeth Raper, Justice Brigitte Sandra Markovic, Justice John Allaster Halley, and Justice Geoffrey Ross Kennett. Justice Bernard Michael Murphy and Justice Stephen Carey George Burley, as well as Chief Executive Officer and Principal Registrar of the Court Sia Lagos, also joined virtually.

The May 15 MOU was the second MOU signed between the judiciaries of the Philippines and Australia.

Last May 8 during the opening of the three-day 2024 Asia and the Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Women Judges and 2024 National Convention of the Philippine Women Judges Association in Cebu City, the SCP and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCA) also signed an MOU on judicial cooperation.

Signed by Chief Justice Gesmundo and Chief Justice William Alstergren AO of the FCFCA, who joined online, the first MOU focuses on, among other things, the enhancement of access to the family courts of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society, including women and children.