Sereno eyes paper-less courts

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Judiciary must rise from the threat of floods by taking steps to protect the environment through paper-less courts, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said Wednesday in a speech before members of the Presidents of Law Associations in Asia (POLA).

“How does the government intend to build a nation for more than 7,000 islands whose population increasingly concentrated in cities and when these cities are mostly coastal and sinking relative to the sea level,” Sereno said in her first speech as Chief Justice.

“We in the Judiciary must watch and respond effectively in these changes taking place. We need to think of our Judicial records and ensure their physical integrity when disaster strikes,” she said.

Sereno said that to protect the trees, they need to minimize the demand for more papers.

We have to rethink our paper-based system and usher in a judicial system that is less paper dependent,” she said.

“We have to rethink our paper-based system and usher in a judicial system that is less paper dependent…Because the environment and technological changes are taking place fast, we in the judiciary also have to move fast in order for the delivery of justice in the context of this changing environment,” she said.