ABA ROLI Supports the Philippine Supreme Court in the production of Revised Rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence

The presentation slide (left) that opened the media launch of the 2019 Revised Rules of Civil Procedure and the Revised Rules on Evidence (right).

On August 20, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, on behalf of the Supreme Court, presented the 2019 Revised Rules of Civil Procedure and the Revised Rules on Evidence to the members of the judiciary, the Philippine Bar, and the public. The media launch was held at the En Banc Session Hall, and was attended by Associate Justices of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. The Department of Justice and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines delivered remote messages of support given the existing travel restrictions and health protocols in the country. Other guests attended the launch via Zoom due to risk mitigation measures of the Supreme Court, and the launch was also available via livestream for the public.

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), under the Access to Justice and Support for the Rule of Law Project (ACCESS Project) funded by USAID, helped in the publication of 400 copies of the Revised Rules. The culmination of multi-year research efforts, these new guidelines are a product that will greatly benefit litigants in the fulfillment of their constitutional right to speedy disposition of their cases. In the next several months, the ACCESS Project will also assist the Supreme Court in the roll-out of the training session on the Revised Rules to nearly 2,000 regional trial and first level court judges.

Learn more about ABA ROLI's work in Asia and the Pacific here.