SC wants to empower poor, marginalized
The Supreme Court is taking steps to provide the poor and the marginalized to have the same access to legal assistance whenever they need it.
Daily TribuneThe Supreme Court is taking steps to provide the poor and the marginalized to have the same access to legal assistance whenever they need it.
In his keynote address at the start of the First Philippine Clinical Legal Education Summit at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taguig City, Supreme Court Chief Justice said access to justice has increased and the poor and marginalized sectors of society have been assured a place in the judicial system through the Clinical Legal Education Program or CLEP.
The Summit, aims to discuss the legal aid needs of the communities and services rendered by law clinics, including the potential impact of Rule 138-A or the Revised Law Student Practice Rule, which requires all law schools to establish a CLEP and law clinics nationwide.
The Chief Justice said the Revised Rule "broadens the concept of legal aid by strengthening experiential legal education through the establishment of school-based clinics that promote the value of professional social responsibility.
Its objective is to geographically expand access to justice, and produce competent and practice-ready lawyers.
Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen in his message as Chairperson of the Supreme Court Oversight Committee on the Revised Rule 138-A said those who lack resources and those who are at the margins of our society suffer from epistemic injustice through no fault of their own.
"Because of the dominance of the status quo that entrenches the system, they suffer a lack of understanding of the law, its institutions, processes, and contents. Legal assistance, therefore, is always an opportunity to empower," he said.