USAID, SC launch project to improve court efficiency

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The U.S. Embassy has launched a new project with the Philippine Supreme Court that aims to enhance confidence in the country’s judicial system through more efficient and timely settlement of court cases.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator Eric Postel and Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno led the launch of the Judicial Strengthening for Court Effectiveness (JUSTICE) Project.

“This new project is in line with the U.S.-Philippines Partnership for Growth initiative, which aims to advance inclusive economic growth in the country by addressing the most serious constraints to growth,” Assistant Administrator Postel said, according to a US Embassy statement.

Launched in November 2011 by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, the Partnership for Growth provides a new framework for deepening and strengthening bilateral engagement between the Philippines and the U.S. Government to accelerate inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The JUSTICE Project will assist in the application of case management technologies and procedural and operational measures to decongest courts. It will also support efforts to improve judicial integrity and strengthen contract and intellectual propery enforcement.

Assistant Administrator Postel, Chief Justice Sereno, and USAID Mission Director for the Philippines Gloria D. Steele signed a memorandum of intent to affirm the mutual commitment of the Philippine Judiciary and USAID to advance judicial efficiency, predictability, integrity and effectiveness in pursuit of the objectives of the Partnership for Growth.

A study co-authored by the Chief Justice in 2007 cited judicial efficiency as a major impediment to the country’s competitiveness, with 84 percent of corporations surveyed citing that court delay was their main consideration in deciding not to invest in the country.

Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr. also hailed the project. “The JUSTICE Project is exactly the type of cooperation we are seeking to increase under the Partnership for Growth,” he said. “This project will have real, tangible consequences and will benefit citizens of both of our countries.”

(US Embassy Philippines)

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