With or without a pandemic, litigants can expect faster and cheaper litigation going forward as the Supreme Court is now crafting its rules on how to implement videoconferencing for hearings of cases in courts.
In his speech during the 130th Foundation Day and Law Day celebration of the Philippine Bar Association — the oldest voluntary national organization of lawyers in the country — Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said the SC Committee on Virtual Hearings and Electronic Testimony is now working on the rules.
The Supreme Court allowed the use of videoconferencing for court proceedings at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We promulgated the Guidelines on the Conduct of Videoconferencing, which institutionalized the conduct of virtual hearings and electronic testimony for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Gesmundo told PBA lawyer-members.
“In line with our efforts toward a technology-driven judiciary, we have decided to allow the conduct of all court proceedings through videoconferencing even after the end of the pandemic.”
The chief magistrate said the adoption of videoconferencing for court proceedings is part of the SC’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI).
The SPJI is the institutional blueprint of the Court en banc’s plans and programs for the delivery of responsive and real-time justice.
Because of this, Gesmundo urged lawyers to embrace technology for the Court to fully implement its programs under the SPJI.
“My hope is that the PBA helps lead the way as we advance these innovations across the entire judiciary. In particular, I hope the PBA can lend its resources, expertise, and networks to raise awareness about the reforms we are pursuing,” he said.
The top magistrate also lauded PBA’s recent relaunch of its website in a bid to capitalize on social media and other technological tools to increase engagement with its members and the public.
“This will all be very helpful in informing our colleagues in this profession, but our people as well,” he said.
“I know the focus now of the PBA is not just to remain resilient amidst emerging challenges, but to stay relevant especially in the face of evolving technology…I am happy to see that we are one in this goal,” Gesmundo said.
He said the SPJI is anchored on four guiding principles—timely and fair justice, transparent and accountable justice, equal and inclusive justice, and technologically adaptive management—and aimed at three outcomes: efficiency, innovation, and access.
Under the first outcome of efficiency, court systems—both adjudicative and administrative—will be streamlined based on the needs of stakeholders both inside and outside the judiciary.
The SC will thus undertake a judiciary-wide organizational review and restructuring.
Under the second outcome of innovation, the SC will shift and run all adjudicative and administrative processes to an automated platform.
For the third and final outcome of access, the SC will work toward bringing its services faster, closer, and more efficiently to the people.
Gesmundo said he is optimistic that the PBA would align its plans and programs to the Court’s SPJI to successfully implement these reforms.
“I hope that the Court can also count on you to push for both the adoption of these reforms in the judiciary and the adaptation of your peers in the profession to innovations and technological advances. I urge you to invest in the skills and resources needed to enable the shift that we envision,” the Chief Justice said.
“I know from experience that this is not as easy as it sounds—after all, we all had to keep up with technology, and that includes the Justices of the High Court as well.”
“But we remain firm: technological advances are already shaping how we work and how we live; indeed, they are already reshaping society itself—and we must be ready to adapt and utilize them for our benefit, and for the benefit of the people we serve,” he said.