Sereno: Tech-savvy courts less prone to corruption

MANILA, Philippines – When the wheels of justice turn, they don’t always do so speedily. 

There is always the long wait – for a trial judge’s order to be officially issued, for a decision to be promulgated, for the parties involved to be served with the orders, or for asset recovery to be executed.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno wants to change this. 

Emphatically, she shared her vision of a technology-savvy judiciary in her keynote speech during the 2015 Manila Social Good Summit held Saturday, September 26, at the Resorts World Manila. This year’s summit focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals adopted by world leaders on September 25 at the United Nations General Assembly including injustice. 

Sereno said the automated hearing – a feature of the Philippine electronic court system or e-court – allows every activity in a court trial to be “captured electronically.” 

The leader of the 15-member High Court shared the story of a long-time detainee “released right then and there” after the order of release was “immediately encoded and printed and served on him and his counsel.”

“It was so unprecedented that the accused and his family were in tears, having actually witnessed justice realtime,” she said. 

Tech-savvy judiciary 

The first female chief justice in Philippine history, Sereno has allowed the live audio stream of oral arguments before the SC, jumpstarted the automation of case workflows for faster disposal, and partnered with other government agencies in developing a system of electronically-sent subpoenas to address “poor attendance by police witnesses.” 

Sereno has repeatedly stressed the importance of using technology in managing cases under what is called e-courts. 

The e-court ensures that there is an integrated system for court cases “upon filing all the way to judgement.”

Sereno enumerated a long list of benefits from an e-court, including lessening the likelihood for human error in court reports, greater transparency, and better prioritization by judges.

The e-court is seen as less prone to corruption – before this, court fixers step in where the court system lacked a streamlined process and cases were difficult to monitor.

Appointed relatively young to her present post, the 54-year-old Sereno has 16 more years as chief justice until the mandatory retirement of 70 – a rare opportunity to institute long-term judicial reforms.

Monitoring case performance 

Sereno said she believes the electronic court system “is proving itself to be an effective monitoring tool for court performance.”

She explained that “public access” to court records “is increased through [the] information kiosk,” which can be accessed in some court lobbies.

Under electronic processes, the “raffling of cases” or assigning of a case to a court division or branch is “without human intervention.”  

In her speech, Sereno also highlighted the long-term benefits of the existing Enterprise Information System Plan. 

While not revealing the complete details of the 5-year master plan, Sereno said the plan will interconnect over 2,000 courts – a feat she regarded as an “ambitious, long-term automation program.” 

Already, petitions before the SC can be filed digitally and payments can be made electronically. The assignment of the case’s docket number and its raffling can likewise be done electronically.

Case delay worst barrier to justice

But Sereno also acknowledged the limits of judiciary-inititated reforms.

The law, she said, presently allows for the skewed distribution of cases in Philippine courts – a phenomenon that she was certain would last “for the next 5 years.”

As it is, many Filipinos are discouraged from seeking redress through the courts due to case delay.

Experts have identified the delay in resolving criminal cases and the duration of civil cases as the most significant or serious barriers to achieving civil and criminal justice in key Philippine cities, such as Manila, Cebu, and Davao. (READ: Case delay worst barrier to justice in key PH cities) 

The disposal rates of cases by trial courts point to a perennial problem in the Philippine judiciary – the clogging of court dockets.

In the Philippines, state figures from 2005 to 2010 show that lower courts have an annual average case load of more than one million – equivalent to an average of around 4,221 cases per working day.

According to Sereno, more than 640,000 cases are pending in Philippine lower courts. The records of these cases are managed by only 2,000 clerks of court.

But electronic case management can aid judges in accessing information needed for their decisions, taking away the need to manually leaf through court documents.

Long-term judicial reforms

In 2014, Sereno initiated the continuous trial system. (READ: Sereno wants more funds for faster case disposal)

The system was piloted in regional trial courts and metropolitan trial courts in Manila, Quezon City, and Makati in September 2014. Sereno projected that, under the system, trial time would be reduced to 90 days, from the current 3 to 5 years. (READ: US human trafficking report backs Sereno-led court reform) 

Sereno has repeatedly called for greater funds to be allotted for the judiciary for this purpose. – Rappler.com