The Sandiganbayan Justices having completed their CMIS Training.

Sandiganbayan

The ABA in cooperation with the USAID-funded ROLE project and The Asia Foundation project has supported the computerization of the Sandiganbayan (i.e. anti-corruption court).  The Sandiganbayan now has ten cases slated for continuous trial and at least three of the five divisions are working successfully with the computerized court Case Management Information System (CMIS). The Sandiganbayan has decreased its caseload from 2277 to 2098 (June 2006 statistics), representing an 8% decrease for the year to date.

 

Anti-Money Laundering Training

In conjunction with the Asian Development Bank, the Asia Foundation, the Rule of Law Effectiveness Program, and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Prosecutorial Development Assistance, the ABA has co-sponsored several anti-money laundering trainings on subjects such as best practices on court rules and procedures for money-laundering/civil forfeiture actions. A Civil Forfeiture Seminar to familiarize prosecutors and judges on the recently passed New Rules on Civil Forfeiture (in relation to the Anti- Judge Susan Mollway of the United States District Court in Hawaii to share international inputs with the participants. 

In April 2007, the Rule of Law Initiative sponsored a roundtable for the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and other Filipino government agencies on regulatory and compliance issues.  Anti-money laundering expertise from the U.S. perspective was represented by Mr. Greg Baldwin, partner at Holland & Knight LLP.

 

Anti-Terrorism

The ABA sponsored a stakeholder’s roundtable in Mindanao to discuss anti-terrorism legislation and the balancing of the state's security interests with individual liberties. Libertas, a young lawyers' group, facilitated the program and the ABA acted as an "honest broker," encouraging stakeholder participation. A second forum on the same topic was held in Manila in October 2005.  An Anti-Terrorism bill was adopted by the legislature in February 2007.

New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary (Annotated)

The Chief Justice with representatives of the partners

To support and assist the members of the Judiciary in understanding the New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary, ABA worked in collaboration with the Philippines Judicial Academy (PhilJA) and the University of the Philippines Institute for Judicial Administration (UP-IJA) to develop an annotation of the new Code. The code of conduct was adopted in 2004 and is based on the Bangalore Principles, the international standards for judicial ethics. The drafting of the annotation was divided between PhilJA (Canons 1-3) and UP-IJA (Canons 4-6). Six local experts wrote the annotations to the six canons providing local case law to support the implementation of the code. A U.S. Federal Court of Appeals Judge provided editing and the addition of relevant International and U.S. case law. The annotation is a practical guide for judges that provides case law to explain the various provisions of the Code. The annotation was formally launched in February 2007 at the Supreme Court with Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno and Senior Associate Justice Leonardo S. Quisumbing providing remarks. 

 

Code of Conduct for Court Personnel

In line with its commitment to PhilJA to provide technical assistance in promoting responsible conduct of court personnel and as a follow-up to the trainings conducted for court personnel, the ABA agreed to support the development of a poster with scenes depicting ethical situations covered by the code. These posters will serve to further reinforce the code provisions to court personnel and inform the public about the new rules. The poster was finalized in December 2006 and printed copies were delivered to PhilJA in January 2007 for distribution to courthouses throughout the country. A brochure containing the full text of the code was printed and given to PhilJA for distribution.

 

Judicial Reform Index

The Rule of Law Initiative conducted an assessment of the Philippine judicial system using its Judicial Reform Index, a tool developed by the ABA to assess judicial reform and judicial independence in emerging democracies and transitioning states. The on-site portion of the assessment was carried out in March 2006 by Evelyn Lance, a former Hawaii State Court judge. The presentation of the report was held in September 2006 and offers international organizations, development agencies, technical legal assistance providers, local reformers, and other stakeholders a reliable means to better target judicial reform programs and monitor progress towards establishing a more accountable, effective, and independent judiciary.

 

Procedural Assessments

The Rule of Law Initiative, at the request of the Supreme Court, completed an assessment of the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Rules of Evidence, including electronic evidence rules. The evidence assessment provided an analysis of the rules based on international standards and recommendations for amendments. The civil procedure assessment focused on changes necessary to support international business and global transactions in the Philippines. The Supreme Court Rules Committee members want to ensure that the amended rules provide for international arbitration and enforcement of foreign judgments. A team of legal experts completed the assessments by reviewing the current rules and providing recommendations in a written format.

For more information, contact Theresa Luong at <luongt@staff.abanet.org>.

 

Continuing Legal Education

ABA CD with some of our partners during the MCLE Workshop, Atty. Hector Martinez, then Pres. Phil. Bar Association (PBA) and Atty Fina Tantuico of PBA.

In order to improve regulation, oversight, and compliance of the Supreme Court's Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) program, the ABA assisted the MCLE Office in a survey to assess the effectiveness of the MCLE training program and to identify areas for improvement. In August 2006, The Rule of Law Initiative provided both a train-the-trainer’s program and an alternative technologies training for CLE providers. The ABA also partnered with the Philippine Bar Association to deliver an interactive 36-hour training program, in August and September of 2006, that fulfilled the mandatory CLE requirements for lawyers. The CLE program and the train-the-trainers program where replicated during second quarter of the year 2007. 

 

Justice Antonio Carpio answering a query during open forum – Judge to Judge Dialogue in Mindanao.

Judicial Education

To facilitate the sharing of common concerns and the exchange of ideas on how to meet professional challenges, the ABA is sponsoring a series of "judge-to-judge" dialogues in the Philippines. Under this project, judges from the U.S. and other countries meet with judges from the Philippine Supreme, appellate, and trial courts to discuss a variety of issues. Local judge-to-judge dialogues have also been held to allow judges to meet with their colleagues and discuss issues of common concern. The Rule of Law Initiative held a series of local judge-to-judge dialogues on preventing case delays in Manila, Laoag, Boracay, and Zamboanga City.     

 

 

Development of Teaching Module in Legal Ethics

Symbolic turnover to Dean Magsalin, Pres. Phil. Association of Law Schools, copy of the module by the authors.

The ABA partnered with the University of the Philippines Law School to develop a module for a specialized ethics course. The process involved initial training on the use of interactive teaching techniques, the development and pilot testing of the ethics course during the second semester of 2005-2006 school year, and finally the compilation of the course reading materials. The interactive nature of this course, which allows students to be actively involved during classroom discussion, is unique in the Philippines. The compiled course materials were reduced and compiled into a “module” that could be used by other Filipino law professors in teaching ethics. The module contains materials for teaching ethics in five substantive areas, Family Law, Labor Law, Remedial Law, Corporation and Securities Law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. The ABA hopes that the module will become the standard in teaching legal ethics and bring about a new era in teaching methodologies in Filipino law schools. The module was launched in February 2007 in partnership with the Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS) and the University of the Philippines Law School.  Deans, law professors, and MCLE providers from around the country attended the event. Some of the UP Professors–authors shared with their colleagues their experience in developing the module, teaching the course and the use of interactive teaching methodologies.  Copies of the module were distributed widely, and in particular, all member schools of PALS were given copies of the module.

 

Development of Curricula for Anti-Corruption

In partnership with the law faculty at the Ateneo de Manila University, the Rule of Law Initiative is working to develop a curriculum for an anti-corruption course that will result in a module to be utilized by other law schools. Despite several recent measures to combat corruption in the Philippines, evidence indicates that it continues to rise. The course seeks to address why the existing legal and policy frameworks fail to address issues of corruption through a multi-disciplinary approach.

 

Philippine Women Judges Association (PWJA)

The ABA assisted the PWJA in convening its Seminar and Annual Meeting through sponsorship of the event. The Honorable Jiin-Fang Lin, Chief Judge of the Taiwan District Court in Taipei and Joan Winship, Executive Director of International Association of Women Judges spoke on capacity building of the women in the judiciary. Ms. Winship additionally led a capacity-building Workshop for PWJA officers and board members.  The ABA likewise conducted a Strategic Planning Workshop with the PWJA. As a result of this workshop, the Rule of Law Initiative will support the PWJA in developing and publishing a “know your rights” brochure on gender issues, particularly with the newly enacted juvenile justice law, domestic violence law, and anti-trafficking law; to be distributed throughout the country to inform the public and local community leaders of their rights under these laws. The ABA will also support a series of roundtable discussion in collaboration with the local PWJA and IBP chapters and some NGOs, to inform community leaders and citizens of their rights and to engage leaders to pursue community-coordinated activities to protect women and children in their respective province and region.

 

Bar Association Activities

The ABA supported the first bar leadership roundtable in cooperation with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Philippines Bar Association.  Ms. Teresa Cannady served as moderator while Ms. Dianna Kempe, former President of the IBA and current Co-chair of the ABA Task Force on the Rule of Law, presented her recommendations on how bar associations can be leaders in the rule of law.

The main objective of this activity was to bring these two associations together to evaluate and assess their activities as community leaders and as advocates for the rule of law. The theme was “going beyond” how bar associations traditionally serve their members as a trade association, to being protectors of the public and promoters of the rule of law. The three main points included the importance of bar leadership, lawyers rendering service to the profession and to the public, and going beyond ethics rules to show respect for colleagues and the courts. Translating these concepts into reality can mean providing free legal aid, supporting public legal education, and taking a public stand as advocates for the rule of law.

The roundtable also provided an opportunity for the two associations to discuss their programs and seek avenues of cooperation. The national officers of both associations, attended the half-day discussion session. The Rule of Law Initiative will follow up with both bar associations to plan similar events in the region and support activities designed to bring legal information to the public.