Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares on judicial reform

"Judicial reform for me is best described as efforts both in policy and action towards eliminating obstacles towards the effective, efficient and equitable access of the people to justice. As a human rights lawyer and considering that I have a bias in favor of the people, judicial reforms should focus in allowing this kind of access to the poor and the marginalized sectors and public interest issues. I agree with a paper on judicial reform in Latin America that judicial reform must delve into reforming its important elements such as the independence of the judiciary (appointment and disciplinary reform), access (including cost, legal aid, gender issues, and procedural and substantive aspects of the judicial system), efficiency (unclogging court dockets, and alternative dispute resolution which is also an element of access) and of course resources (not just autonomy of the budget but its sufficiency as well). In the Philippines, no judicial reform can be undertaken without including steps to address corruption (both in the judiciary and the legal practitioners in courts). Furthermore, effective access also includes not just the legal education of judges but of lawyers as well for their effective representation of clients, most especially the poor. Ensuring that law schools equip students with the receptiveness to judicial reform and public interest issues also play a role in legal system reform in general and in judicial reform in particular. I do not wish to exclude the elimination of cultural barriers to effective access to the judiciary in any efforts at judicial reform. Notice that the list of elements is not exhaustive, as judicial reform in one country could vary in terms of thrust from another. Of course, I do not believe that genuine and thoroughgoing judicial reform can be achieved without political and economic reforms as these factors normally, and inherently, make access to justice difficult if not impossible for the marginalized and the poor."

- Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares