Judges gain from U.S. exposure trip

Judges gained new knowledge on decentralizing court administrative services and develop an efficient and responsive court management system in a recent exposure trip abroad.

The Supreme Court (SC) headed by Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh and Philippine Judges Academy (PHILJA) delegates visited the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to take part in court management and court administration discussions.

The Philippine delegation attended seminars and conducted open discussions with the NCSC, and representatives of the state and federal courts, which enabled the Philippine delegation to gain first-hand knowledge about the process of decentralizing court administrative services as well as developing an efficient and responsive court management system. 

This as representatives from the Supreme Court of the Philippines and the PHILJA went on an Exposure Trip to the NCSC in Virginia, USA from 18 to 22 March 2024.

The Philippine delegation through the exposure trip, met with key officials of the NCSC, including pioneers and leaders in court management and in the decentralization of court administrative services in the USA. 

They also had the opportunity to meet and hold discussions with representatives of various state and federal courts, including Honorable Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, the Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

The knowledge gained from the discussions, the SC said, comes at an opportune time as the Supreme Court is in the process of decentralizing court administrative services through the creation of Regional Court Managers.

The discussion also gave the Court and the PHILJA an in-depth view of the court management capacity building methodologies employed by the Federal Judicial Center, in addition to the NCSC and the US District of Columbia Courts. 

This will help the PHILJA formulate a curriculum and the different offerings thereunder, on Court Management and Administration.