The Philippine IT Law Journal

In November 2003, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Court Administrator Presbitero Velasco Jr. and Mayor Jejomar Binary of the City of Makati for the installation of the country's first electronic court.

The electronic court (E-court) project is an initiative of Sen. Pimentel, driven by his desire to allow the courts to maximize the use of technology in enhancing the court processes. For its initial budget, Sen. Pimentel allocated P2 million of his Priority Development Assistance Fund. A counterpart of P2 million shall be provided by the city government of Makati. The installation of E-courts in other regional trial courts will depend on the willingness of the local government units to provide a counterpart amount to shoulder the initial budget of said courts.

Features of the E-court

The E-courts will have three major innovations, namely: computer-aided transcription (CAT) facilities, case administration or case management system and tele-video conference room.

The computer-aided transcription facilities will allow courts to provide transcripts of the proceedings to be printed' and distributed at the end of every hearing. With these facilities, parties will not have to wait for weeks or even months before they can be furnished with copies of the transcripts of the proceedings.

The introduction of this digital recording and transcription system in our courts will best implement Section 16 of the Bill of Rights providing for the litigants' right to speedy disposition of cases. It is well recognized that the time spent by the parties in waiting for the transcript of stenographic notes is a fact most contributory to the current 'at a snail's pace' disposition of cases. With the computerization of the transcription, the parties will be assured that before they leave the courtroom, they will have the copies of the transcript of the proceedings with them.

Moreover, for an enhanced case management or case administration, the project includes a computer linkage to the Supreme Court. This feature will allow the Office of the Court Administrator to effectively monitor the cases pending in the trial court and to check the letter's compliance with the guidelines and rules issued by the Supreme Court as regards the disposition of the cases before it. Surely, this will be an effective measure for the High Court to exercise its supervisory functions over the lower courts.

Perhaps the best feature of the E-court project is the tele-video conference room. This is a closed-circuit video room which allows child witnesses to testify outside the courtroom but within its vicinity to prevent them from being intimidated or influenced by the accused or other persons. This facility will certainly protect vulnerable witnesses especially children whose appearance before the courts could be traumatic to them.

To illustrate the advantage of the child witness room, Atty. Ivan John Uy, Chief of the Management Information System Office (MISO) of the Supreme Court, gave as an example the examination of a child who was allegedly raped by her father or uncle.

With the present procedure in our courts, the child will have to expose herself to an embarrassing and traumatic experience connected with the litigation of the rape case as she will have to narrate before the court the rape incident with the accused in front of her and with all the relatives and neighbors attending the hearing.

"It is already such a trauma being a victim; you're all again a victim the second time when you have to narrate it in front of that kind of audience. For an adult, it is already traumatic. "what more for a child?" said Atty. Uy.

Certainly, this is what the child witness room seeks to prevent-the traumatic effect on the child brought about by testifying in front of the judge, the accused and other people.

Aside from the features mentioned above, the E-court will also have a website for dissemination of information to the public regarding the cases filed therein.

Currently, the project is lodged before the Urban Development Division of the City of Makati- The division is preparing for the specifications of the facilities to be submitted to the procurement office of the Department of Budget and Management.

Not a paperless court

The MISO Chief clarified that the Ecourt project is not a court where everything will be digitized so that it would be a paperless court. The project, as conceptualized, does not include a system that allows electronic filing of pleadings.

"The concept of the E-court is to provide technological facility available now that is most cost-effective and yet will have significant impact on the courtroom," Atty. Uy said.

As the project is intended to be implemented the soonest possible time, only those things that are workable in a short period were considered, placing special emphasis on the budget constraints.

Doing a paperless court where everything is digitized requires solving a lot of other issues. First, a lot of rules have to be changed; Second, a paperless court in which everything is digitized has a huge funding requirement; Third, most of the judges in the trial courts do not want to read the text of the cases in the computer monitor. They still prefer to read them on paper. Most probably, therefore, despite the e-filing, judges would still ask to have the e-filed motions, pleadings and other orders and notices printed on paper. Taking these factors into consideration, a paperless court is not feasible at this point in time, according to the MISO Chief.

Towards a digital court

Optimistic as he is, Atty. Uy said that the High Court would probably start its initiative towards a paperless court in five years' time. However, he foresees that full automation of the courtroom will be selective at first.

Atty. Uy discussed the possible set-up of a paperless court. He said that big law firms would be allowed to enroll in the digital court system so that they will have an access to the system. There would be a virtual terminal wherein the documents (pleadings, motions, etc.) from the enrolled law firms will be sent to the Supreme Court and it will be the Supreme Court who will send the document to the trial courts. He said that for authentication purposes a centralized processing of documents must be had. Otherwise, there would be difficulties in the management of traffic and in the validation of the legitimacy of the law firm.

Moreover, the MISO Chief stressed that it would be very expensive if the judiciary will install multiple servers lieu of a central processing office. With the country's dwindling resources, the judiciary will just have to make the best out of its finances.

With the current efforts of the Supreme Court, the optimistic outlook of Atty. Uy, the assistance of the likes of Sen. Pimentel, and the cooperation of the local government units, full automation of the judiciary will soon be realized. There will be expediency in the disposition of cases. The rights of both parties will be observed. They will be accorded with protection from emotional harm. Justice will be the end in view. When that time comes, it will not just be a victory of a party in a case. Rather, it will be a victory of all the party litigants as the best interest of justice is served.

* Based on the interview with Atty. Ivan John Enrile Uy (MISO Chief, Supreme Court of the Philippines)