ASEAN chief justices agree on further knowledge-sharing

Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta and other Southeast Asian chief justices have committed to further knowledge-sharing in handling cases of international interest especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Council of ASEAN Chief Justices (CACJ) signed the Hanoi Declaration, agreeing on the conduct of a masterclass for ASEAN judges and judicial officers on the Hague conventions on the taking of evidence abroad in civil or commercial matters and on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil or commercial matters.

The CACJ's eighth meeting, its first online, was hosted by the judiciary of Vietnam.

The Philippine Supreme Court's Public Information Office said the declaration also stated the chief justices agreed on a study of the current legal framework within each ASEAN jurisdiction on the taking of evidence for foreign proceedings, and to eventually develop a Model Rule for further consideration in the next CACJ meeting in 2021.

The SC PIO said this complements the Philippine judiciary's own guidelines on the service of judicial documents in civil and commercial matters abroad.

In the declaration, the chief justices also agreed for one of their working groups to identify new ways of conducting training and education programs, the SC PIO said.

The declaration also recognized ongoing efforts to develop a "common set of values, aspirations and principles" for ASEAN judiciaries in cross-border child dispute cases within the region.

The chief justices likewise shared their experiences in managing the courts' response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For his part, Peralta said the SC ordered the physical closure of courts during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in the Philippines and issued policies for court operations amid the pandemic, including the conduct of video conference hearings, online filing of pleadings, and the reduction of bail for indigent detainees.

Peralta said more than 80,000 detainees were released from March 17 to October 16, more than half of them through online hearings. — Nicole-Anna C. Lagrimas/RSJ, GMA News