SC: Justice coordination must not blur institutional mandates

THE Supreme Court (SC) said stronger coordination among justice agencies should not come at the expense of their separate mandates and constitutional boundaries, a point Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo raised at the Justice Sector Coordinating Council summit on Monday. “Our institutions are strongest when they are secure in their own mandates, faithful to their constitutional boundaries, yet open to understanding how their work connects with the work of others,” Mr. Gesmundo said, according to an SC statement on Wednesday. Mr. Gesmundo, who is set to leave his post in November upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, said the administration of justice cannot be treated as the responsibility of a single institution or as separate work by agencies operating independently. “It is a common endeavor, carried forward by distinct institutions, each faithful to its own constitutional role, yet conscious that the justice we seek to administer is one and indivisible,” he said. Mr. Gesmundo said institutional boundaries are often not apparent to people who encounter the justice system, making coordination important without requiring agencies to give up their distinct responsibilities. “The challenge is not to dissolve the boundaries between institutions, but to understand the points where those boundaries meet,” he said. He cited the Justice Zones as an example of coordination among justice-sector institutions at the local level. The initiative expanded from seven zones in 2021 to 20 nationwide. The SC earlier confirmed that Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen will serve as acting chief justice when the post becomes vacant, as the law prescribes that the most senior associate justice shall perform the chief justice’s functions until a successor is appointed and qualified. The Constitution gives the President 90 days to appoint a new head of the court. — Mark Joseph M. Sanchez