The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has eliminated the required remaining years of service for applicants seeking to become associate justice or chief justice of the Supreme Court (SC), a move intended to encourage more candidates.
The deleted provision previously mandated that an applicant must have at least two-and-a-half years of remaining service if appointed as an associate justice or chief justice of the SC.
This two-and-a-half-year remaining service requirement had applied to applicants who were associate justices or presiding justices of an appellate court, court administrators, chairpersons of a constitutional commission, solicitors general, or department secretaries.
It also removed the previous requirement of five years of remaining service to the SC for applicants who did not hold the aforementioned positions or were private practitioners.
The JBC is a constitutional body responsible for accepting, screening, and nominating individuals for appointments to the Judiciary, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Legal Education Board.
To recall, the compulsory retirement age for members of the judiciary, from the SC to the lowest trial court, remains 70.
In Resolution No. JBC 01-2025, issued on 26 March and declared immediately executory, the JBC deleted the relevant provisions of Rule 8, Section 1 of JBC No. 2020-01 where it states that in the selection of nominees for a vacancy in the Supreme Court, “the Council must consider their age with a view to discourage the appointment of those who would not be able to serve it for a reasonably sufficient time.”
The resolution further detailed the previous requirements — for the position of Associate Justice or Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Council will consider applicants only if they shall have at least two and one-half years remaining to serve as Associate Justice or Chief Justice of the Supreme Court if they have served as Associate Justice or Presiding Justice of an appellate court, Court Administrator, Chairperson of a Constitutional Commission, Solicitor General, or Department Secretary.
“Provided that this requirement shall not apply to incumbent justices of the Supreme Court applying for the position of Chief Justice,” the JBC said.