Description

About the Event

The rule of law, the cornerstone of justice, often rests upon a judiciary that is both independent and trusted by the people it serves. Yet, challenges—ranging from corruption and political interference that compromise impartiality, inadequate resources that restrict access to justice, clogged dockets that delay case resolution, and threats to judicial safety—are commonly faced by various jurisdictions not just in Asia but around the word, eroding public confidence in the justice system and impairing the access to, and quality of, justice received by the people.

To ensure that fairness and justice prevail, it is vital that judiciaries around the world take a proactive stance in targeting the specific threats to the rule of law in their respective jurisdictions, thus, re-affirming its sacred mandate owed to the people. For instance, recognizing that judicial integrity is non-negotiable, the Supreme Court of the Philippines has taken a proactive stance through its Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI) to address various roadblocks affecting the effective dispensation of justice in the country. Anchored on the principles of timely and fair, transparent and accountable, equal and inclusive, and technologically adaptive justice, the SPJI lays down transformative reforms to ensure efficiency, innovation, and access in the Philippine justice system.

In this lecture, Hon. Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, will speak about the specific challenges on the rule of law in the Philippines and the progressive steps the Supreme Court of the Philippines has taken to restore public confidence in the justice system, with a particular emphasis on the significance of communication, cooperation, and knowledge-exchange among different jurisdictions to achieve a common goal: the protection of the rule of law.

About the Speaker

Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier became the 182nd Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines upon her appointment on March 7, 2019. She is the Chairperson of the 2025 Philippine Bar Examinations.

She is also currently the Chairperson of the Committee on Family Courts and Juvenile Concerns (CFCJC); Co-Chairperson of the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices Working Group on Cross Border Disputes Involving Children; the President of the Philippine Women Judges Association (PWJA) and Vice-President of International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ); the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on the Revision of the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR) and the Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Environment and Sustainability and Environmental Concerns. She was the Chairperson of the Committee on Gender Responsiveness in the Judiciary (CGRJ) from April 2021 to June 2022.