Foreign Studies

Saman et al, (2012), stated that the records management was the key success

factor in judicial system. Systematic, efficient and organize records management

system provided comprehensive information for courts to guarantee unbiased

decision. Transparent information system and good records management indirectly

hinder the misuse of power or corruption, case postponement and delayed decision.

It also reflected that the good image of judiciary system and upholds the right of

individual and society at large. The paper unfolded the implementation of the

electronic records management systems (ERMS) in Malaysian courts. It discussed

that the literature review, background in Malaysian judiciary system and eCourt as

well as E-Shariah implementation, research design and methods, preliminary

findings, issues and challenges as well as conclusion and recommendations.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290042096_Electronic_court_records_management_in_Malay

sia_A_case_study p.25

The public can access eCourts through the Public Kiosk Inquiry System, a

computer mounted on a booth, as follows:

The user can look for cases by entering the case number, case title, or name

into the search bar and clicking “Find”. The results will show the case number, case

title, status of the case, branch handling the case, and the dates of the next hearing.

On another tab is a calendar that allows the public to see the scheduled hearings on

a given month or day of different court branches. For the judges and personnel, the

eCourt interface is a dashboard with widgets. Judges will be able to see their pending

and overdue tasks, court statistics, ageing cases, and overstaying detainees.

Aspects of the eCourt is the Electronic Raffle(eRaffle), which assigns cases to

branches immediately after they are filed. With the Automated Hearing System

component of the eCourt, ready templates for court issuances can be printed on the

spot. Another aspect of automation is the monitoring of cases to determine heavy

congestion in courts. And as of March 23, OCA said that there are 635 decongestion
officers deployed nationwide. According to the call for applications OCA released last

year, court decongestion officers are expected to be Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor

graduates. They were listed to be employed on a contractual bases for two years and

under the direct supervion of the judge of the branch or court where they are

assigned. They are short term, term, effectively, project employees with a budget to

look at particular courts and to help them determine which cases need to be decided

immediately. Those are part of the efforts to streamline and make resolutions faster.

P.24

Cabato (2017) expressed that the eCourt was first launched in year 2013

through Hon. Camile Ting, the Court Attorney at the office of the Court Administrator.

Currently there are 212 operational eCourt System in most cities including Quezon

City, Lapu-Lapu City, Angeles City, Cebu City, Davao City, Tacloban City, Pasig City,

Makati City, and Mandaluyong City. The government goal is in open 297 eCourt

system by the end of 2017. The Supreme Court is looking at launch the eCourt

program in Region IV-A, Region III, and the rest of the National Capital Judicial

Region. http://nine.cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/03/30/200-ecourts-transparency.html p.23,

The eCourt system is part of the Philippine Supreme Courts initiative to increase

court efficiency and transparency by reducing court staffs administrative workload

and providing lawyers and litigants easy access to case information. Chief Justice

Sereno said that the eCourt would speed up court processes, eliminate possible

sources of corruption and ensure greater transparency. It will remove doubt that

money is leaking in the court system, she added, as the system will automatically

assign cases and determine fees, replacing the time-consuming manual process.

The chief justice also demonstrated how the system which she said would put the

seal of transparency and good governance on the court works.

As soon as a case is filed, lawyers and litigants know which court and judge their

case has been assigned to. The system also generates barcodes that allow tracking

of case files and progress. It is constantly updated with information on motions,

hearings and decisions, providing court administrators and supervising judges with

real-time information on the performance of individual courts. Additionally, the public

can access case information at one of the kiosks in the courts lobbies.
https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law/where_we_work/asia/philippines/news/

news_philippines_ecourt_0813/ p. 21

Caliwan (2013) explained that the eCourts will not only help in the speedy

resolution of cases but also make the courts less prone to corruption since it provides

for random electronic sampling and raffling of cases, the continuous trial system and

the use of judicial affidavits in lieu of taking of direct testimony of witnesses. The

Enterprise Information Systems Plan or EISP is the Judiciary’s IT Master Plan would

be also paved the way for a modern, efficient and transparent court system. Its key

component, the eCourt system, is a path to a future when layers could be filed

pleadings by uploading them online while in their offices. It also notified the judges of

deliverables and deadlines, and provides them with templates for orders and

decisions to fast-track their orders immediately after the hearing, target aged cases,

and ultimately reduce case backlogs. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1007675 p,20

Mateo (2013) claimed that the Supreme Court (SC) administrator, Jose Midas

Marquez has ordered Quezon City court employees to conduct a month-long dry run

of the electronic court (eCourt) system to evaluate its accuracy, security and integrity.

He issued a circular ordering both the trial courts and the offices of the clerks of court

to use the the eCourt system to record, docket, process, monitor and report case

information in all active cases of the affected courts. He said majority of trial courts

had encoded more than 80 percent of the cases for the system, which seeks to give

the public easier access to the cases being heard at the local courts. During the trial

run, the courts were still required to maintain a parallel paper based recording system

involving incoming and outgoing case information. Marquez said this would be

discounted only after the evaluation of the results of the trial run. The Supreme Court

Administrator noted that the confidentiality of case information, as decreed in special

laws and applicable rules, would be kept at all times. http://oca.judiciary.gov.ph/?
page_id=2069 p19

The Supreme Court is perceived as a lumbering giant: slow to act and react,

slow to adjust and slow to adapt. The Supreme Court has embarked on a program

designed to improve, with the help of the latest technology. Its aim is to transform the

entire courtroom into an automated trial room. Its aim is to transform the entire

courtroom into an automated trial room. This means that during trial, every activity is

appraised electronically including orders issued by the judge, minutes of the hearing

(just) conducted, the judges notes on the testimonies taken, markings of evidence

and issuances of writs and other processes. Also, information on cases will be

encoded upon filing, together with subsequent orders are instantly released and

immediately encoded.

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno gave the name eCourt to the package of

reformist changes that the High Court has begun to introduce into the practices and

procedures of the nation’s courts and legal profession. The eCourt program is

intended to bring real-time justice to litigants in country. P.19

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) presented a number of

technologies can support different areas of court operations. Such technologies have

been used for the automation of administrative tasks like case tracking, case

management system, and office automation. On the other hand, ICT has been

designed to offer to lawyers and citizens’ access to statutes, regulations and case

laws, to increase transparency of court decisions, and access to key legal

information. This advancement must be used for all practical purposes like recording

of statement of accused from prisons through video conferencing. To avoid the

unnecessary delay that is generally caused in bringing the accused to the court. P.17
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