THE Supreme Court (SC) yesterday approved the transition to electronic filing as the primary mode of court pleadings before first and second-level courts in the country.
“Starting September 1, 2024, no trial court shall act upon any pleading unless it is accompanied by an electronic transmittal through electronic mail,” an SC briefer said.
First level courts refer to Metropolitan Trial Courts (MeTC), Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCC), Municipal Trial Courts (MTC), and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (MCTC).
Second level courts refer to Regional Trial Courts (RTCs).
SC spokesperson Camille Sue Ting said the decision was reached by the magistrates during their regular en banc session on Tuesday.
Ting said the full text of the new guidelines will be uploaded on the SC website once the en banc furnishes a copy to the Court’s Public Information Office.
The use of technology, including electronic filings, is part of the wide-ranging Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) 2022-2027 that the SC has touted as part of its effort to reform the country’s justice system, which is far from perfect and marred by delays in proceedings due to lack of judges and other resources.
The SPJI aims to create new frameworks and approaches to solve perennial problems in the judiciary, such as case delays, clogged dockets, and little to no resources.
The SPJI has four guiding principles namely, timely and fair justice, transparent and accountable justice, equal and inclusive justice, and technologically adaptive court management.
The SC pilot tested the electronic filing of pleadings at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when courts were physically closed.
