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Court Annexed Mediation - Making It Work
Court Annexed Mediation - Making It Work
Definition
On October 16, 2001, the Supreme Court of the Philippines designated the
Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) as its component unit for court-referred, court-
related mediation cases and other ADR mechanisms. This was a follow-through to
the 1997 directive of the Court to PHILJA “to conduct an in-depth examination of our
present legal and judicial system for the purpose of upgrading, improving, and
reforming it to meet the changes in and challenges of the new millennium.” What
better mechanism than through Court-Annexed Mediation (CAM) aimed at de-
clogging the heavy dockets of our courts and giving our judges quality time for the
rendition of persuasive decisions!
Deliberately and cautiously, the Academy took one step at a time in establishing
court-annexed mediation.
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A Presentation by Justice Ameurfina A. Melencio Herrera, retired Justice of the Supreme
Court, and Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy, at the International Conference
and Showcase on Judicial Reforms, Parallel Session C, November 29, 2005, at the Makati
Shangri-La, Philippines.
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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 covered by the Lupong Tagapamayapa under the Katarungang Pamparangay Law;
Civil aspect of quasi-offenses under Title 14 of the Revised Penal Code;
Civil aspect of Estafa and Libel cases where damages are sought (A.M. No.04-2-04-SC, dated July 20,
2004, effective August 16, 2004).
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Justice Reforms Initiatives Support Project in support of the APJR.
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With a success rate of 85% of the 2nd pilot-testing in 2000, implementation of CAM
started in 2001. We have established twenty-nine (29) Mediation Center Units in
Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, and adjacent sites. With the JURIS project
started in 2002, we have established two (2) JURIS model court sites in San
Fernando, Pampanga, Island of Luzon, and Bacolod City in the Visayan Islands.
These Centers are now operational and render daily mediation services in their
respective areas.
Acceding to requests for the opening of Mediation Centers, we have expanded CAM
to Tacloban City in the Visayas, and Cagayan de Oro and General Santos City in
Mindanao. The JURIS Project is also opening up new sites in Baguio City, which is
the capital of the Cordillera Autonomous Region, and linking up with CAM in
Cagayan de Oro for its Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR) component.
PMC Units operate under the control and supervision of PHILJA in coordination with
the Office of the Court Administrator, through the Executive Judges. The Mediation
Center is run by a Unit Coordinator, an officer-in-charge, and a Daily Supervisor,
who are assisted by judicial officials and court personnel.
Essentials
The priority given to ADR by the APJR, which is the legacy of Chief Justice Hilario G.
Davide to the Judiciary, contributes greatly to the success of this pioneer endeavor.
The Supreme Court and its different units have been most supportive. Development
partners lent us all the assistance they could. I would like to make special mention
of the US AID and THE ASIA FOUNDATION, which have been mainly responsible
for these endeavors, from pilot-testing, to implementation, to expansion, and onward
to the elevation of the mediation effort to the Court of Appeals in Manila (Luzon), in
Cebu City (Visayas), and in Cagayan de Oro City (Mindanao).
The receptiveness to reforms, the guidance and steady support of the Supreme
Court have been indispensable factors in making CAM work. Administrative
Circulars, Guidelines on procedures to be followed, declaration of Settlement
Periods, amendments of the Rules of Court on Legal Fees, all emanated from the
Court upon recommendation of the Academy3. The project has now become a
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Supreme Court Issuances re Court-Annexed Mediation
benchmark program of the Supreme Court, through the Philippine Judicial Academy.
Court-annexed mediation has been institutionalized.
Guideline for Lawyers
A significant Guideline contributory to making CAM work was issued by the Supreme
Court in 9 March 2004. It requires parties’ counsel in court-annexed mediation
cases, to prepare the client for mediation, participate in the mediation session, assist
in the preparation of the Compromise Agreement and provide guidance in
compliance with the terms of judgment on a compromise. The guideline was
essential because of resistance encountered from the legal profession.
The ADR Committee and the Design and Management Committee, both headed by
Professor Eduardo de los Angeles former Dean, and now President of the Manuel L.
Quezon University, whose avocation is ADR since many years back, and the
Committee members, have spearheaded, managed and monitored all efforts. The
Academy owes them a debt of gratitude for making CAM work.4
The Executive Judge directs the judges in areas where PMC units exist. The
Mediation Centers rely on the Presiding Judges for the referral of cases to mediation.
The court personnel assist in said referral and in the preparation of the inventory of
cases, and monthly reports. The Clerk of Court collects and deposits the mediation
fees. The Branch Clerk of Court segregates the mediatable cases from the rest.
The Clerk-in-charge acts as liaison of the Executive Judge.
Making mediation a part of Pre-trial also accounts for making the program work.
Upon appearance of the parties during pre-trial in cases covered by mediation, the
Judge immediately directs the parties to appear before the Mediation Center unit
located in the courthouse. This referral is mandatory. If Mediation succeeds, a
Compromise Agreement signed by the parties and counsel is furnished the court. If
mediation fails, the case is returned to the court, which shall then set the case for
resumption of pre-trial and thereafter, to try and decide the case on its merits in
areas not covered by JURIS.
The Mediators
These are collected in the trial court and the appellate court levels. In the trial
courts, in civil cases, they are collected upon the filing of a complaint and an answer
with a mediatable permissive or compulsory counterclaim. In criminal cases, upon
the filing of a complaint or information. Fees are also collected in appeals from the 1st
level courts to the Regional Trial Courts, and in appeals from the Regional Trial
Court to the Court of Appeals or Sandiganbayan. And in the Court of Appeals, upon
the filing of a mediatable case, special civil action, comment/answer to the petition
and the appellee’s brief.
Mediation Fees are collected even in areas where there are no PMC units in order to
build up a Mediation Fund. This shall be utilized for the promotion of court-annexed
mediation, training of mediators, payment of mediators’ fees, operating expenses of
the PMC units, etc.
To ensure access to justice, pauper litigants are exempted from contributing to the
Mediation Fund. Also exempted are the Republic of the Philippines, and the
provincial, municipal Treasurer or Assessor.
This is the Justice Reforms Initiatives Support Project in support of the APJR. It is a
5-year bilateral project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA), with the National Judicial Institute as the Canadian Executing Agency, and
with PHILJA as a partner. It is designed to strengthen the use of mediation as an
alternative dispute resolution (ADR) through the combined mechanisms of CAM and
Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR). If mediation fails in the Pre-trial stage, the case is
brought back to court for the JDR process. The judge becomes a conciliator,
mediator, or neutral evaluator. The proceedings remain confidential. If JDR fails,
the case goes to the pair Judge for trial in order to preserve confidentiality.
A total of thirty-one (31) model courts in two pilot sites have adopted and
institutionalized the use of CAM and ADR. PHILJA is strengthening family courts
and the family mediation program through this project. The Project has shown
considerable success in the first eleven (11) months of implementation and is
becoming part of the judicial landscape.
Encouraged by the success of CAM, we started the Appeals Court Mediation Project
(ACM) in 2003. It is now institutionalized and mediation is in full swing.
Mediation Statistics
Lessons Learned
• Mediation fees and the fee structure for Mediators are crucial considerations.
• Proper techniques must be prescribed for evaluation, measuring success, and
tracking impact.
• There is need to integrate the curriculum for CAM, JURIS, and ACM
programs.
• Manuals should be prepared for the guidance of Mediators and all
stakeholders.
• Systems, operations, and procedures should be improved.
• A data collection system should be designed that will track various
performance indicators such as decreased dockets.
• An independent evaluation is best conduced that will assess the impact of
mediation on the speed of dispute resolution, costs of litigation, and quality of
dispute resolution services.
• Submission of reports, including financial reports, in prescribed forms should
be submitted for proper tracking and improvement of processes.
Our blue-print of action includes the opening up of additional sites all over the
country with a target of at least one Mediation Center Unit in each of the thirteen (13)
judicial regions.
Conclusion
This then is how we have made Court-annexed mediation work and how we prepare
to make it work in the Philippines, with faithful dedication to the effort, with firm belief
in its potential to reduce the backlog of the courts, as its “instrumental value,” and to
empower our people to settle their own disputes, as its “intrinsic value.”
Court-annexed mediation is hardly a panacea for the resolution of all disputes, but it
provides an alternative venue. Settlement can actually happen within one’s lifetime.
Intergenerational litigation would hopefully, be a thing of the past. It was our hero,
Jose P. Rizal who commented on “cases that last an eternity handed down from
fathers to sons and grandsons.”
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The Philippine Judicial Academy, as the component unit for Mediation of the
Supreme Court, is committed to make Court-annexed mediation work.