IT Law Journal

administrator January 3rd, 2005

Modernization of the Courts

The mental picture evoked in most persons by the term “Supreme Court” or “Highest Tribunal of the Land” is of fifty-year old, serious, solemn, unsmiling, grim-visaged individuals, clad in dark, conservative togas, moving quietly down long corridors or conferring with each other in hushed tones and weighing every word and expression, or otherwise working in large, dimly lit offices, while seated behind big, antique desks surrounded by musty, thick books and bulky records.

This may be true to a certain extent, but as with all other human beings these justices have lighter sides and trifling moments. They are conservative, indeed, but they are not resistant to change. In fact, the Supreme Court, as well as its various offices, has been among the first to use modern technology, and continue to do so.

As early as 1989, the Supreme Court geared itself towards the application of computer technology to its various functions. It initially created an ad hoc Committee to determine policy directions and a Management Information Systems Office to provide technical expertise on the formulation of systems design studies, software development, as well as technical support on hardware, software and peopleware. In 1991, the first Case Administration System (CAS) was installed and put in operation. An updated version was set-up in 1995. It computerized the docketing functions of the Court to provide the justices with information on the status of any particular case pending in the Supreme Court. The network connects the offices of the justices, Clerks of Court, Court Administrator, Judicial Records Office and Cashier. The CAS has relegated as a thing of the past the tedious and unreliable function of docketing by hand in voluminous docket books every major action in pending cases. Another case administration system has been developed for the lower courts to monitor the status and development of the cases handled by the trial judges.

Even earlier, the Court had installed IBM S/38 main frame computer to prepare the salary checks of employees in the judiciary, numbering some twenty-two thousand at the moment, including the Justices and the Judges. Thereafter, a new Judicial Payroll System was developed to replace the existing system. The new cost efficient system and time saving system will make access and encoding easier with the installation of a network connecting the Finance and Accounting Offices. The Supreme Court has entered into an agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines for the payment of salaries through ATM. In time, this will be used in all lower courts.

The Court is also modernizing other equipments. Its Medical Clinic has acquired a “1-2-3 channel E.C.G.” machine. The Physiotherapy Section of the Medical Clinic has one (1) Armrex synchrosonic US/50 combination ultrasound/ LV stimulator, an “infraphil machine (Philips NPN), a “Birtcher Megason XVI ultrasonic therapy” machine; a “Dickson home/office paraffin bath” set, and a “Midland whirlpool bath” machine, all for the use of Justices, Judges and court personnel. Additional Printing Machines were acquired to meet the ever increasing printing requirements of justices, Judges and court officials and personnel.

The Court Administration Information System (CAIS) was also developed to monitor the status of complaints filed against Judges and court personnel; the case load and dispositions of trial court Judges; the movement of Judges and court personnel and the administrative clearing of retiring/resigning Judges and court personnel.

The Court has to a large extent replaced its manual and even electric typewriters with personal computers or word processors. It has acquired and continues to acquire fax machines and cellular telephones not only for the justices and officers and employees of the Supreme Court, but also for many Regional Trial Courts. To make research easier, it has also acquired a full text retrieval system of decisions of Supreme Court from 1901 to 1995 in compact discs known as Philjuris and in CD-ROMS known as the Jurisprudence and Lex Libris.

For the welfare of its employees, it has acquired nine (9) large airconditioned buses for their use in coming to and from the office. It has also acquired vehicles for its officials (e.g., Clerk of Court, Assistant Clerk of Court and Division Clerks of Court and their Assistants, and Chiefs of Offices), as well as for Members of the Court, the Judicial and Bar Council and the PHILJA.

At the same time, it is disposing of obsolete and very old equipment such as desks, chairs, filing cabinets, and typewriters. It is also disposing of very old cars and other vehicles which are 10 to 20 years old. Said cars are hardly serviceable, well nigh obsolete and useless, and very expensive to maintain and repair. Disposition of unserviceable properties are being made in accordance with rules of the Commission on Audit. The Court is also disposing of old, bulky records of cases that have long been terminated and records of personnel who had long retired.

The most ambitious infrastructure project undertaken by the Supreme Court started in 1999 when it began the construction of the Centennial Building, a modern edifice at the corner of Taft Avenue and Padre Faura Streets. The building has seven floors. The foundation and its shell structure was completed in 2001. Immediately thereafter, its Interior-Fit-out started and was finished in May 2002. The Supreme Court Centennial Building now houses the judicial and Bar Council, the PHILJA (Manila Office), the SC Administrative Offices, the Office of the Chief Attorney, the Office of the Reporter, the Program Management Office, the Committee on Halls of Justice, and the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

The need for parking spaces and additional office, prompted the Court to embark on another construction project, i.e., the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals Multi-Purpose Building. The building stands on a lot belonging to the Court of Appeals but built with funds supplied by the Supreme Court.

In order to avoid expensive rentals during summer sessions in Baguio City, the Court built additional two cottages and a duplex adjacent to the SC offices. The two cottages are for the 14th and 15th Members of the Court, while the duplex are for the court staff scheduled during summer sessions.

At more than 100, the Supreme Court is a combination of old and new, conservative but avantgrade. While in the exercise of its judicial power, it always considers the trodden path since precedents represent the wisdom of the past, it is not averse to explore new avenues in search of the truth. Old management schemes and practices that have stood the test of time continue to be used but the dysfunctional aspects of the system are being discarded. Accordingly, the Office of the Court Administrator has undergone a massive reorganization to improve the management climate of the Judiciary. Receptive of new ideas and ever willing to initiate new procedures, the Supreme Court continues to cope with the realities of modern society.

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