The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday conducted a meeting with development partners and stakeholders on the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI), the blueprint for action on judicial reforms.
In his keynote speech, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said they “were able to conclude, continue, and commence programs in furtherance of [our] three-fold target outcomes of efficiency, access, and innovation, to deliver responsive and real-time justice, to secure the judiciary’s relevance in the face of changing times.”
He shared the the SC implemented programs that seek to drive performance excellence
within the judiciary such as the creation of the Operational Process Management Team that coordinates with the different SC offices as well as the establishment of the Office of the Regional Court Manager (ORCM) to address systemic inefficiencies and enhance service delivery.
He added a technical working group (TWG) was formed “to review the processes of the Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) to address gaps and improve its performance and operations.”
Gesmundo said the SC is also “capitalizing on AI-enabled tools to enhance court performance, notably in voice to text transcription and legal research.”
Likewise, several SC offices are also testing the use of AI-enabled platforms to optimize legal research while it has also “taken steps to redevelop the eCourt System with functionalities that will benefit not only litigants, but also judicial personnel.”
For his part, Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa noted the celebration “underscores the fulfillment of the strides that have been taken in the past two years, as well as the fueling hope for the three more years that lie ahead.”
Meanwhile, Senior Associate Justice (SAJ) Marvic M.V.F. Leonen presented the summary of completed activities as well as the ongoing initiatives of the Court in view of the SPJI’s target outcomes.
“The SPJI is a living, breathing, dynamic document, capable of expanding to explore new lines of innovation pursuits, useful in dismantling dated notions that have become unresponsive or obsolete, and incredibly adaptive, with its complexions ever-changing to remain receptive to the novel needs of the Judiciary and, ultimately, the nation,” he said.
Leonen and Caguioa are the working Vice Chairperson and Member, respectively, of the SC’s Management Committee.
