Category Archives: Supreme Court

February 22, 2012 · 15:14

More impeachments

Looks like there’s going to be a second impeachment trial coming soon to the Philippine Senate. The House voted 38-10 that there is probable cause to impeach Justice del Castillo, infamous for allegedly plagiarizing a Yale Law Review article. Some might argue this impeachment is based on stronger grounds than the politicized impeachment of Chief Justice Corona. However, it’s also quite convenient for the Aquino administration to not one but two additional Supreme Court appointments if both impeachment cases reach conviction. Indeed, as it currently stands, only Roberto Abad’s term will expire before the end of Aquino’s presidential term, meaning that barring any deaths or unforeseen retirements Aquino would otherwise only have had opportunity to appoint one more justice.* By the looks of it, Aquino could leave the presidency with 6 of his justices on the bench, plus sympathetic justices like Carpio.

* Martin Villarama’s term ends in April 2016, during the election season. This whole impeachment saga against Corona started when President Arroyo appointed Corona during the 2010 election season, which Aquino argued violated the ban on midnight appointments. Villarama’s retirement should be an interested test of if Aquino accepts the midnight appointment ban when it constrains his presidency – or alternatively, if he suddenly decides that the Supreme Court made the right call in de Castro v. JBC.

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Filed under Aquino, impeachment, Philippines, Supreme Court

February 17, 2012 · 15:37

The CJ Strikes Back

There’s been no shortage of rude words between Chief Justice Corona and President Aquino. As the impeachment trial against Corona has progressed, the Senate has focused on his SALN and allegations of corruption. Now, the chief justice has responded by challenging the president to release his psychological records. According to PhilStar, Corona said that the President has an obligation to assure the public that their leader is “in his right mind.” Harsh words! I can’t imagine that the relationship will ever be repaired if Corona escapes impeachment.

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Filed under Aquino, Corona, impeachment, Philippines, Supreme Court

February 15, 2012 · 15:24

Contemptuous contempt

The Supreme Court recently dismissed a complaint by several losing litigants against three Court of Appeals judges. Of course, losing parties often have an incentive to complain that decision was not fair. However, the Supreme Court then turned around and threatened the complainants with contempt “for degrading the judicial office of respondent Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals, and for interfering with the due performance of their work for the Judiciary.” You can read more about the current case here.

One of the themes that emerged from Marites Vitug’s Shadow of Doubt is that the Supreme Court protects its own. While the Supreme Court has every right to dismiss frivolous complaints against judges, is it taking things too far to threaten contempt? The real concern is that overusing contempt might discourage legitimate and useful public scrutiny of the courts. There is some research suggesting that public accountability, transparency, and media attention are key to improving judicial independence and quality.

This issue came up before when several law professors publicly complained that Justice del Castillo had plagiarized a U.S. law review article – a serious charge made by serious individuals. Then as now the Supreme Court accused them of contempt. Congress is in the process of deciding whether to impeach Justice del Castillo. However, it would probably be better for the courts if the public rather than the Congress acted as the judicial watchdog.

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Filed under contempt, Philippines, Supreme Court

February 9, 2012 · 18:44

A new man for Indonesia’s Supreme Court?

Indonesia’s Supreme Court voted for a new chief justice, and for one some observers seem hopeful. Chief Justice Hatta Ali, formerly a deputy chief justice, won a clear majority of the 54 votes (28, compared to 15 for the next highest vote earner).

Usually, legal analysts point to the Supreme Court as an exemplar the problems with Indonesia’s legal system. However, The Jakarta Globe sounds optimistic in its assessment. Chief Justice Hatta Ali has already pledged to improve judicial quality through training courses during his first 100 days, as well as to address the notorious backlog.

Indra, a DPR MP who sits on Commission III (legal affairs), suggested Chief Justice Hatta Ali look to the Constitutional Court as a model for speeding up case processing. However, the Supreme Court’s backlog is an order of magnitude larger than the Constitutional Court’s (22,000 vs. just over 100 last time I checked). Moreover, the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction is limited and it can always dismiss cases for lack of standing, whereas the Supreme Court has general jurisdiction. As such, while I certainly wish Chief Justice Hatta Ali good luck, I don’t yet see a viable plan to bring the docket under control.

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Filed under Hatta Ali, indonesia, Supreme Court

January 3, 2012 · 23:29

Updates from the Region

I’m still recovering from the Christmas break and trying to get catch up on the news. Here are a few important items:

Indonesia

According to The Jakarta Post, the Constitutional Court ruled that former political party members could not hold a seat in any election-organizing body, such as the General Elections Commission (KPU) or the General Elections Monitoring Body (Bawaslu), within 5 years of their retirement. The ruling was justified as preserving the impartiality and independence of those bodies.

Philippines

There’s been more maneuvering in the impeachment of Chief Justice Corona. The Supreme Court is set to decide whether to issue a temporary restraining order against the Senate to prevent the impeachment from proceeding to a formal trial. Even more interesting, according to PhilStar, the case has been assigned to Justice Carpio, widely seen as Corona’s most likely replacement. Stay tuned for what looks like high legal drama.

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Filed under Corona, indonesia, Mahkamah Konstitusi, Philippines, Supreme Court