Justice System

Reform
PREPARED BY: JONATHAN RIVERA

 The

Supreme Court has resolutely addressed the

problem of clogged dockets and worked
incessantly to reduce and eliminate backlog of
cases especially in the lower courts. Under the
Action Program for Judicial Reform (APJR)
supported with grants and loans from the US
Agency for International Development (USAID),
World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA) and the
Australian AID, complementary projects are being
implemented to improve case flow, achieve zero
backlog in the higher courts, promote alternative
dispute resolution (ADR) methods by
institutionalizing mediation and computerizing the
internal processes of the judiciary and making

Court of Appeal's New Program

Aside

from unclogging the CA docket, we are set to

implement the computerization of the Management
Information System (MIS), which will greatly facilitate
tracking of cases from completion stage until final
disposition. Recently, we had ground-laying of
theOne Stop Processing Centerwhich is aimed at
making follow-up and inquiries on status of cases
easier for litigants and their counsel. Evidently, the
prevention of unnecessary delays entails not just
speeding up case disposition but maintaining
efficiency and diligence ofall personnelinvolved in
every step of the appellate process.

 The

judiciary must adopt a computerized case

management system (CMS) for all courts, from
first level courts to the Supreme Court.

The

template for this CMS is the two-year old

case management system of the Court of
Appeals (CA), which is widely acknowledged
worldwide as a success. Presiding Justice
Andres Reyes of the CA estimates that by the
end of this year 2012, the CA will comply with
the constitutional directive that CA cases
should be decided within 12 months from date
of submission for resolution.

Online, real-time monitoring

If

the CA can do it that is, comply with the

constitutional directive - then all other appellate
courts, including the Supreme Court, should be able
to do it also. A CMS for trial courts, similar to the CA
CMS, will be pilot-tested in all Quezon City trial
courts before the end of this year. If successful, the
trial court CMS will be deployed nationwide.

 The

CMS will allow the CJ, PJ, the Court

Administrator and the Deputy Court
Administrators, to monitor online, and in real
time, the caseload, aging, and the rate of
disposition of cases of any judge or justice.
The public can also find out the status of their
cases by simply going to the website of the
court.

 Right

now, a litigant with a pending case in the

CA can go to the CA website, type his case
number, and instantly he will know if a
decision or resolution has been issued, and if
one has been issued, he can download a copy.
A litigant can also go to the CA compound in
Manila where there is a computer kiosk. The
litigant can find out the status of his case by
simply typing on the touchscreen of the
computer kiosk the case number or title of his
case.

Simplify trials
The

way forward is to adopt a simplified trial procedure

patterned after the four existing special rules adopting
simplified trial procedures, namely:

(1) the Revised Rule on Summary Procedure which has been implemented
by first level courts in certain cases for over ten years now;

(2) the Interim Rules of Procedure Governing Intra-Corporate Controversies

which have been implemented by second level courts also for over ten
years now;

(3) the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases adopted two years
ago; and

(4) the Rules of Procedure for Intellectual Property Rights Cases adopted
last year

Civil Cases
In

all civil cases not presently governed

by special simplified trial procedures, the
direct testimony of witnesses shall be by
affidavit only (except for hostile
witnesses), subject to cross-examination
by the adverse party. All affidavits of
witnesses shall be submitted before the
start of the trial. This alone will cut down
trial time by at least one-half.

 Objections

to questions will merely be noted

by the judge, who anyway knows what
testimony is admissible or not, unlike jurors in
the jury system. Demurrer to evidence,
motions to dismiss, motions for bill of
particulars, motions for reconsideration,
motions for extension of time to file pleadings,
and petitions for certiorari, prohibition and
mandamus against interlocutory orders, shall
be prohibited, as they are now prohibited in
the four existing special rules adopting
simplified trial procedures. The judge shall
take active part in questioning witnesses.

Techie judges
Every

judge and justice will be provided

with a USB 3G wireless thumb-drive that,
once inserted in his laptop or desktop,
will directly connect him to the Supreme
Court website where he can access the
E-Library. The trial judge can upload his
monthly report of pending cases to the
OCA section of the Supreme Court
website.

Court Mediation
Mediation

is a process in which a trained mediator

works with disputed parties to help them develop
an agreement on the contended issues in their
case. In this role, the mediator encourages and
facilitates resolution of disputed issues by fostering
joint problem solving, consensus building among
parties, and exploration of alternative settlements.
This allows parties to develop their own agreement,
rather than having the judge decide the issues.
Mediation can result in a more expedient resolution
to the case, reduced costs, and more acceptable
results for both parties.

 All

information and communications

during mediation are confidential
(except as provided by law), and will not
be provided to the court. TheMediated
Agreementor anImpasse(when an
agreement cannot be reached) will be
provided to the court, along with copies
to the parties. The Courts Mediation
Services Program provides Supreme
Court certified mediators for county civil
cases (primarily small claims), family law
cases, and dependency cases.

 Small

Claims/County Civil: Several counties

have a small claims pre-trial mediation
program. At the pre-trial conference, all
contested cases are offered an opportunity to
attend mediation with a volunteer certified
county civil case mediator - at no cost to the
parties. A mediator is assigned to each case
and takes the parties to a private room to
conduct the mediation. If the parties do not
come to an agreement through the mediation
process, they will return to the court for further
court hearings or other action.

 Family

Mediation: Family mediation is encouraged

for all family cases with disputes surrounding asset
and debt distribution; and all issues relating to child
caring, time sharing, support, and/or any other
matters regarding the care, safety and stability of
children. Most often these are cases involving
dissolution of marriage or modification of an existing
dissolution of marriage order, when parties feel a
need to change the conditions of the original order.
There is a joint income cap on eligibility for Family
Court Mediation Services and referrals are made only
by order of the court. TheOrder of Referral to Family
Mediation, list of Family Mediations for each county,
and a brochure are located in theFamily Divisionof

 Dependency

Mediation: Mediation of
dependency court cases brings together a
Certified Dependency Mediator, the
Department of Children and Families, Guardian
Ad Litem Program, Attorneys and other parties,
as needed, to develop a workable case plan
for children and families in the dependency
court system. Dependency Mediation is
ordered by a juvenile court judge during court.
An Investigator or Case Worker with the
Department of Children and Families can
provide more information about mediation of
dependency court cases.

What organizations are

helping implement the ACM
Program?
There
are six institutions working together to implement the mediation
process in the Court of Appeals.
THE COURT OF APPEALS (CA)
Selects and refers cases and other documents or information for
mediation.
PHILIPPINE JUDICIAL ACADEMY (PHILJA)
Oversees the training program of appellate court mediators and assigns
a PMC (CA) coordinator to oversee the operations of a PMC (CA) office,
among other responsibilities.

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE OF THE SUPREME COURT

(SC-PIO)
Assists in the in formation, education and communication
campaign program of the project.
INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES (IBP)
Collaborates with PHILJA in its mediation advocacy and assists in
the disciplinary actions for erring mediators.
PHILIPPINE ASSOCIATION OF LAW SCHOOLS (PALS)
Includes Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) courses (including
Mediation) and negotiating skills in the curriculum and re-orients
law professors and students on legal aid.

PHILIPPINE MEDIATION CENTER-CA

Helps facilitate successful mediation by providing administrative
and operational support services.

JUSTICE ON WHEELS
The

Justice on Wheels is an
access to justice programme
which was commenced in
2004 by thecountrys
Supreme Courtfollowing the
example of the Guatemalan
Mobile Court System. JOW
aims to bring justice closer to
the poor by providing on-thespot fast and free dispute
resolution services
adjudication, mediation and

bus istravellingthe country literally

delivering accessible justice to the local
communities. One part of the bus has been
transformed into a court room and the other
serves as a mediation chamber. The
disputants are offered not onlyfacilitiesbut
also can benefit from the professional services
of judges, prosecutors, mediators,clerksand
lawyers. Even process server and a court room
guard travel with the bus.

 The

JOW project aims to literally bring the

courts to the people via an air-conditioned bus
worth about P8 million that houses a small
courtroom and offices of the first- or secondlevel court judge assigned via a rotation
scheme, and are staffed by court personnel
and a mediator. The mobile court is custombuilt to efficiently serve its functions. It is
divided into two main sections: the front
section serves as the courtroom, while the rear
section serves as the mediation room. It is
fully air-conditioned and equipped with
amenities for the judge, the court personnel,
the litigants, and their lawyers.

Judicial dispute resolution (JDR)

Judicial

Dispute Resolution (JDR) is another

innovation in the Philippine court system. When
court-annexed mediation fails, the case is brought
to the judge who then acts as a conciliator, a
neutral evaluator and a mediator. The judge will try
to mediate the case. If the judges intervention as a
mediator succeeds, the case is concluded with a
judgment based on a compromise. If the dispute is
still unresolved, then the case is referred to another
judge for trial. Both parties must now be prepared
for litigation.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

(ADR)
Covering

both Court-Annexed Mediation (CAM)

and Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR), this
component targets mediation as a vehicle for
de-clogging the courts, while providing
effective and inexpensive ways for dispute
resolutions.

The settlement rates of Court-Annexed Mediation

(CAM) for pilot sites from July 2004 to December 2007
are as follows:

Pilot Site
City
ofSan
Fernandoan
d Pampanga
Bacolodand
NegrosOccid
ental
Baguioand
Benguet
(data
from
October
2006 only)
GRAND
TOTAL

Referred

Accepted

Settled

Settlement
Rate

5,053

3,616

2,204

60.95%

3,862

3,060

1,695

55.39%

2,795

1,782

959

53.81%

11,710

8,458

4,858

57.43%

2.Judicial Education
Aims

to strengthen the capacity of

PHILJA to plan, design and deliver
effective, gender sensitive, and
socially responsive education and
training for judges and court
personnel, mediators, and lawyers.

3.Reform Advocacy Support

Networking

and collaboration between

the judiciary and civil society to improve
the quality of judicial services and
access to justice, and to empower the
poor and marginalized groups to make
use of judicial and quasi-judicial
services. Primary vehicle for the
component is ALG, Inc.

BARANGAY JUSTICE SYSTEM

The

barangays are the smallest political

subdivisions in the Philippines. The
Katarungang Pambarangay (KP) or
Barangay Justice System (BJS) is an
alternative, community-based
mechanism for dispute resolution of
conflicts between members of the same
community.

 The

BJS provides a venue for disputing

parties to search for a mutually
acceptable solution. Other members of
the communities act as intermediaries,
facilitating the discussion of possible
solutions.

 The

BJS formalized the Filipino tradition to

seek help of community elders or tribe
leaders in resolving disputes between
members of the same community, and
uses the Punong Barangay (highest
elected official in a barangay) and the
Lupon members (committee of respected
community members).

How does it work?

Mediation
A

complaint is filed in the Lupon (committee)

at a minimal filing fee. The Punong Barangay
facilitates the mediation process and explains
the process, objectives and rules of the
mediation. Each party is given time to explain
their point of view. If no settlement is reached
following the mediation, the parties can try to
resolve their dispute through conciliation.

How does it work?

Conciliation
The

conciliators (Pangkat Tagapagkasundo) are known

and respected by both parties in the dispute, and are
constituted by the Punong Barangay from the Lupon. The
three members of the Pangkat are chosen by the parties.
The Pangkat shall hear both parties and explore the
possibilities for amicable settlement. The amicable
settlement reached in conciliation has the force and
effect of a final judgment of a court and can be enforced
within 6 months from the date of settlement by filing a
motion in court.

How does it work?

Arbitration
Arbitration

can take place at any stage of the

proceedings, as long as both parties agree in
writing to abide by the arbitration award of the
Lupon or Pangkat.

The End!