The Success of the JUSTICE Project, a Six Year Effort to Advance Justice in the Philippines

Elisabeth Baraka (left), Director of ABA ROLI’s Asia & the Pacific Division; Chief Justice Lucas P Bersamin (middle); and Alberto Mora, ABA Executive Director of Global Programs are pictured having a light-hearted discussion at the December 5, 2018 culmination event of the JUSTICE project in the Philippines.

Pictured are ABA and USAID staffers at the JUSTICE Project culmination event at the Diamond Hotel in Manila on Wednesday, December 5, 2018.

Around the world, courts are plagued with challenges such as congestion and a lack of access to resources. These structural issues impede citizens’ paths to justice and the development of business in a country. These challenges are present in the Philippines, where courts are in need of improved systems, enhanced technology, and legal education tools. These measures allow for increased efficiency, transparency, and accountability, and thus further inclusive economic growth. The Judicial Strengthening to Improve Court Effectiveness (JUSTICE) Project, a USAID-funded program led by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), in partnership with The Asia Foundation, sought to address these challenges. The project supported a decrease in the cost of business-related matters, as well as an increase in investor confidence in the Philippines. The JUSTICE Project made positive contributions to these goals, which led to the efficient and predictable adjudication of court cases.

Six years after the launch of the JUSTICE Project, over 100 representatives from implementing partners, the Philippines’ Supreme Court, other justice sector institutions, and the media gathered at a ceremony in Manila on December 5, 2018. The ceremony marked the achievements of the project, which is slated to conclude on December 31, 2018.

Key speakers at the event included: Alberto Mora, ABA Associate Executive Director of Global Programs; the Philippines’ Chief Justice Lucas P Bersamin (in his first public event after his appointment); Maram Talaat, USAID-Philippines acting Mission Director; Susan Cowley, ABA ROLI’s Philippines Country Director; and Sam Chittick, The Asia Foundation’s Philippines Country Director.

Alberto Mora, ABA Associate Executive Director for Global Programs, gave remarks during the JUSTICE Project culmination event at the Diamond Hotel in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, December 5, 2018.

The speakers and the event highlighted a wide-range of initiatives from the JUSTICE Project. These initiatives included court-decongestion efforts, advancing the use of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and strengthening the enforcement of financial rehabilitation laws. In addition, the Philippines has been off of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Intellectual Property Watch List since 2014, notably due to the Philippines increasing its protection of intellectual property rights. The project also developed the FIND JUSTICE PH mobile phone app and the eCourt, eRaffle, and eKiosks web based application systems.

The FIND JUSTICE PH mobile phone app takes advantage of the widespread use of smartphones and devices to connect people, when online and offline, with free and low-cost legal services. This mobile phone app also strengthens accountability because it provides the public with access to the courts, specifically information on the location of trial courts and court procedures, and to justice.

The eCourt represents a court automation system that bolsters the efficiency and accountability of PH courts, and the eRaffle is characterized as a case assignment system. The eKiosks provide the public with greater access to court and case information. These machines improve transparency and build the public’s trust in the courts.

Pictured from left to right are Alberto Mora, ABA Associate Executive Director of Global Programs; Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo; Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta; the new Chief Justice Lucas P Bersamin; Maram Talaat, USAID-Philippines acting Mission Director; and Sam Chittick, the Asia Foundation Philippines Country Director.

The following JUSTICE Program partner institutions and stakeholders provided their support, collaboration, and stewardship in their efforts to enhance the business climate and increase judicial effectiveness in the Philippines. These institutions and stakeholders are USAID-Philippines, the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines, the Philippine Judicial Academy of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines, the Court of Appeals of the Republic of the Philippines, Sandiganbayan of the Republic of the Philippines, Court of Tax Appeals of the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of the Philippines Department of Justice, the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel of the Republic of the Philippines Department of Justice, the Public Attorney’s Office of the Republic of the Philippines Department of Justice, the Public-Private Partnership Center of the Republic of the Philippines, National Center for Mediation, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and the Office of the Court Administrator of the Supreme Court.

Learn more about the accomplishments of the JUSTICE Project in ABA ROLI’s spotlight video below.

Read more about the event and related-content in the following media outlet: the Inquirer, MSN News, ABS-CBN News, and multiple sources on GMA News Online, here and here.

Maram Talaat, USAID-Philippines acting Mission Director, gave remarks during the JUSTICE Project culmination event at the Diamond Hotel in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, December 5, 2018.

Lucas P Bersamin, the new Chief Justice of the Philippines, gave remarks during the JUSTICE Project culmination event at the Diamond Hotel in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, December 5, 2018.

Susan Cowley, ABA ROLI’s Philippines Country Director, gave remarks during the JUSTICE Project culmination event at the Diamond Hotel in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, December 5, 2018.

Four screen panels are displayed at the JUSTICE Project culmination event, showcasing achievements of the JUSTICE Project, such as the mobile PH app which connects citizens to legal resources, the development of legal automation through the eCourts, various training seminars, and the results driven by the court decongestion officers (CDOs). 

Learn more about ABA ROLI’s work across Asia & the Pacific.