Philippine Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo along with other Supreme Court justices met with Japanese Supreme Court Chief Justice Saburo Tokura in Japan on March 7.
Apart from Gesmundo, the Philippine delegation was composed by Associate Justices Rodil V. Zalameda, Samuel H. Gaerlan, and Jose Midas P. Marquez. Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano and Consul General Charmaine A. Serna-Chua accompanied the delegation during the visit.
During the visit, Director Katsuya Kusano and Attorney Mao Kanda of the Japanese Supreme Court’s Digital Promotion Section presented the Philippine delegation with an overview of the Japanese Supreme Court’s progress in the digitalization of their court proceedings.
Gesmundo and Tokura exchanged insights on the adoption of technology in court proceedings in their respective jurisdictions.
Gesmundo shared the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovation 2022-2027, or the SPJI, which contains the innovation roadmap of the Philippine Judiciary.
During the exchange, the two Chief Justices agreed that the digitalization of court proceedings, particularly the implementation of videoconferencing hearings, is extremely beneficial for archipelagic countries like Japan and the Philippines.
In Japan, web conferencing was introduced for civil suits in February 2020. While in the Philippines, the guidelines for the conduct of videoconferencing hearings have likewise been in place since December 2020.
The two top magistrates also discussed the upcoming meeting of the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices, or the CACJ, which will be hosted by the Philippines. Japan is one of the ASEAN+ nations, together with China and South Korea.