CJ Sereno eyeing 85 more e-Courts to swiftly resolve cases
Case backlogs are a perennial problem that hounds the Judiciary. But this scenario is about to change with the implementation of innovative projects that are expected to move cases faster than usual.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said among these innovations are the e-Courts and the continuous trial system that will speed up the resolution of cases.
There are currently 82 e-Courts nationwide and Sereno eyes the creation of 85 more e-Courts in Makati, Davao and Cebu “to increase efficiency in monitoring cases and enhance transparency.”
Sereno said e-Courts not only help in the speedy resolution of cases but also make the courts less prone to corruption since it provides for random electronic sampling and raffling of cases.
The system minimizes or prevents errors in court fee payments by automatically assessing the correct fee to be charged. The system records payments made for each case and prints out official receipts.
Even assigning and the raffle of cases to judges are done electronically under the e-Court system. It also monitors and manages important dates relative to a case, and records different actions made during hearings, as well as the status of cases.
This process, Sereno explained, helped decongest court cases in Quezon City, for example where a 30-percent reduction of caseload was noted since the e-Court was pilot-tested in 2013.
“The program seeks to reduce overall case dockets nationwide by 20 percent up to 2016,” she added.
The continuous trial system, on the other hand is currently rolled out in 52 pilot Regional Trial Courts and six pilot Metropolitan Trial Courts in Quezon City, Manila and Makati.
“The continuous trial system is a system in which courts will conduct continuous trial for the speedy resolution of cases. Using existing rules of procedure but emphasizing a more determined effort to avoid delay by judges and litigants, the system prohibits motions for postponement, and setting fixed pre-trial and trial dates,” she explained.
Court innovations
The High Court is also planning to deploy 635 specially-trained decongestion officers to assist various courts in its daily processes and hearings.
“Their deployment aims to reduce by a minimum of 5 percent the caseload of the target courts within 12 months from start of deployment,” she added.
The SC has already allowed the use of judicial affidavits since 2012 in lieu of taking the direct testimony of witnesses which is expected to cut evidence-presentation time by half in trial courts.
Under this set-up, witnesses need not go to the court for their testimony since they just execute affidavits but will have to be physically present during crossexamination by defense lawyers.
Sereno said the SC will also implement “automated hearings” to capture the judiciary’s activity electronically.
At present, about a hundred courts nationwide have already been provided with equipment for automated hearings to “reduce the average length of trials from the current five to seven years to six months to two weeks for simple cases.”
Earlier, former Solicitor-General Estelito Mendoza told a gathering of the Rotary Club in Makati that data from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology as of July 31, 2015 showed that 88, 356 or 96.34 percent of the 91, 712 inmates nationwide are either awaiting trial, undergoing trial or awaiting final judgment.
He said only 2, 838 inmates or 3.07 percent are serving sentences.