For the second time, the Supreme Court (SC) will host the four-day 11th meeting of the Council of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Chief Justices (CACJ) in Mactan, Cebu starting Nov. 18.
The meeting will assess the improvements done for the past decade to strengthen the rule of law in the ASEAN region through cooperation and capacity building among member nations.
An accredited entity within the ASEAN, the CACJ -- which was set up in 2013 -- serves as platform “to build mutual trust and understanding among the region’s judiciaries and to facilitate judicial cooperation to enhance economic growth and development.”
Expected to attend the meeting are the heads of the judiciaries and senior judiciary officials from ASEAN member countries -- Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The CACJ’s website states that the council “provides a regular forum for the Chief Justices to discuss and exchange views on common issues facing their judiciaries.”
It also says: “To facilitate collaboration within ASEAN, the CACJ endorsed frameworks such as the Draft Model Rule on Service of Civil Processes and the Enhanced Common Procedure, which establishes a nonbinding protocol for arranging mediation in cross-border disputes involving children.”
At the same time, it says “the CACJ endorsed codes and standards such as the Model Principles of Judicial Conduct, and acknowledged the International Framework for Court Excellence, a self-assessment tool that the ASEAN Judiciaries can voluntarily adopt to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement.”
“These have strengthened the Rule of Law in the ASEAN region by facilitating cooperation and capacity building,” it points out.
The Philippines’ SC hosted the 3rd meeting in 2015 in Boracay, Aklan.
During the meeting, the CACJ issued its first declaration – the Boracay Accord 2015 – which affirmed the members “commitment to strengthen the regional solidarity of the judiciaries of the ASEAN Member States, uphold the Rule of Law within and across the ASEAN region and enhance judicial cooperation in the region.”
Also, during the Boracay meeting, the participants “agreed to work towards strengthening strategic partnerships with one another, focusing on training needs and capacities, the ASEAN Judiciaries Portal, case management and court technology, child cross border disputes and civil processes.”
It was agreed during the meeting “to set up the Working Group on Cross Border Child Disputes.”
The first meeting was held in Singapore in 2013, second in Malaysia, fourth in Vietnam, fifth in Brunei Darussalam, sixth in Singapore, seventh in Thailand, eighth in Vietnam, ninth in Indonesia, and 10th in Malaysia.
The CACJ said that during the Malaysia meeting, the council members discussed wide-ranging areas of judicial collaboration, such as:
- “Establishment of a social media taskforce based on an approved constitution and terms of reference to consider the use social media as an additional platform for engagement with the public.
- “Adoption of a common set of values and principles for ASEAN Judiciaries in cases of cross-border child disputes within ASEAN.
- “Development of a new online learning management system for future online self-learning content for ASEAN judges.
- “Continuing engagement with the judiciaries of the Japan, the Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China to explore further areas of collaboration, and to explore opportunities with other jurisdictions….”
The CACJ agreed “to recommend the adoption of key documents such as the Model Rule on the Taking of Evidence for Foreign Proceedings in Civil or Commercial Matters and the AI Governance Framework on the Use of Artificial Intelligence by the ASEAN Judiciaries.”
Also, the council “agreed on new initiatives to be explored, such as the establishment of a framework for holding Special Interest Group Meetings, a new Working Group on the Conduct of Videoconferencing Hearings to be chaired by the Philippines, and the holding of the inaugural CACJ Retreat in 2023, involving the ASEAN CJs, to reflect on the CACJ’s milestones and achievements over the past ten years and chart the CACJ’s strategic agenda for the next ten years.”
During the coming CACJ meeting at the Shangri La in Lapu-Lapu City, the SC’s Public Information Office (PIO) said the publications of the council working groups led by the Philippines will be released on Nov. 19.
The opening session of the meeting will start at 9 a.m. on Nov. 20.
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and the chief justices and senior judiciary officials of CACJ member countries will deliver their speeches.
There will be a gala dinner at 8 p.m. on Nov. 20.
The SC-PIO has yet to release the other details of the activities in the four-day meeting.