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COURT-annexed mediation, which the Supreme Court has adopted to
de-clog cases in the lower courts, is gaining momentum, according to
Chief Justice Reynato Puno.
Puno said that court-annexed mediation in the
past several years has made considerable improvements with more
cases resolved.
Of the 40,729 cases that underwent mediation in
the last six years, 28,563 or 70 percent were settled.
Cases covered by court-annexed mediation are all
civil cases, settlement of estates, and cases covered by the Rule on
Summary Procedure, except those which by law may not be compromised;
cases cognizable by the Lupong Tagapamayapa under the Katarungang
Pambarangay Law; the civil aspect of quasi-offenses under Title 14
of the Revises Penal Code; the civil aspect of estafa and libel
cases where damages are sought (Sec. 9, Rule 11, AM No. 04-2-04
Supreme Court effective August 16, 2004); the civil aspect of Batas
Pambansa 22 (Anti-Bouncing Checks Law) cases; and mediatable cases
under the Family Code, such as support, custody or habeas corpus in
relation to custody, legal separation, property relations,
separation of property and guardianship.
Puno said that court-annexed mediation is a
joint project of the Philippine Judicial Academy and the Canadian
government.
“This aims to de-clog courts of unnecessary
and unimportant cases,” he added.
According to Puno, the mediation figures is
expected to rise as the High Court’s Justice on Wheels Project
gains more ground and support from the public.
The Justice on Wheels mobile court is now being
used as a Mobile Philippine Mediation Center for court-annexed
mediation or mediation for cases referred by the courts.
Puno said that barely a month after its launch
in October in Taytay, Rizal, the first court-annexed mediation on
wheels foray registered an unprecedented 100-percent success rate.
Assistant Court Administrator Nimfa Vilches,
vice chairperson of the Justice on Wheels Project committee, said
that of the 100 cases actually referred for court-annexed mediation,
all have been successfully settled. Some 126 other cases are still
undergoing mediation.
The mediated cases largely involved the civil
aspects of the Anti-Bouncing Checks Law and other crimes.
Another proposal the High Court is looking is a
measure giving tax credits to lawyers who will render legal
assistance to the poor for free.
“That is one model that is followed in other
jurisdictions, compelling all the members of the Bar to render free
legal service,” Puno said.
The High Court earlier prodded practicing
lawyers to do more pro-bono work to enable the poor to have more
access to the law.
-- William B. Depasupil
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