Justice chief Gesmundo calls on female judges to lead and transform the region

Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo called on women judges in the country to lead and transform the region, creating a more inclusive, accepting and sensitive world.

This was the call from CJ Gesmundo as he spoke at the International Association of Women Judges Asia-Pacific Regional Conference held on May 8, 2024 at the Fili Hotel in Nustar Resort, Cebu City.

“I wish you all continued strength, courage and determination as you strive to lead and transform our region, and make the world more inclusive, accepting and sensitive,” Gesmundo said as he continued his speech.

“Allow me to also thank and congratulate the PWJA, led by its President, Judge Amy Lazaro-Javier and Executive Vice President, Judge Maria Filomena Singh, my esteemed colleagues in the Court for organizing this annual regional meeting,” he added.

He said: “Speaking to just one woman can be a challenge in itself, so speaking to over 400 women, all judges at that, can prove intimidating even for a Chief Justice. Fortunately, I have had a lot of experience speaking to diverse The public throughout our country, which has always largely consisted of women, has probably also noticed: more and more women are playing an active role in society.’

Gesmundo noted that even in law schools, women outnumber men, prompting him to think that with this trend, more women should be appointed as judges.

He said a study on gender representation and mobility in the Philippine judiciary has proven that there are now more female judges than male judges in the courts.

The ratio in our tertiary courts is not far behind.

But more important than the numbers is the unique perspective that a female judge brings to the court, and I witness this personally, along with my two colleagues who are your hosts today, Judges Javier and Singh.

We read the same documents and look at the same facts, but they always manage to see something different than what I see.

And this is not unique to them.

This is shared by everyone,” said Gesmundo.

In recognition of this empowerment of women, and in line with the commitment to gender equality and inclusion, the SC has made gender initiatives a key pillar of our Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 or the SPJI, which is the blueprint for top-to- -bottom-policy. system-wide operational and institutional reforms aimed at establishing an efficient and effective judiciary that delivers justice in real time.

It focuses on three target outcomes: efficiency, innovation and access.

A particular focus in the context of Access is ensuring gender justice and inclusivity, because access to justice must be equal for everyone in every respect.

Included in the said program are the guidelines for the use of gender-fair language in the judiciary and gender-fair courtroom etiquette to deepen sensitivity to all gender orientations and identities, reduce discriminatory stereotypes in both language and behavior, and promote a more inclusive environment. in our courts and procedures.

Other key initiatives include a number of studies on gender in the judiciary, including the Study on Gender Mobility and Representation in the Philippine Judiciary, which looked at gender-disaggregated data over nearly fifteen years to examine patterns of appointments at all levels of the judiciary and identify barriers identify. to the representation of women.

“We also had the Study on Feminism in Philippine Jurisprudence, which cataloged and reviewed 15 years of Supreme Court rulings on key issue areas, with the aim of critically evaluating legal reasoning to identify those areas that need deeper understanding or that need correction to overcome prejudices and inequalities,” he ended.