|
SUPREME
Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno is amenable to the
proposal of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce to
create special courts to handle legal controversies
involving foreign investments and loan agreements for
government projects.
At
Wednesday’s launching of the Capacity-Building on Public
and Private International Law Issues for the Philippine
Judiciary, Puno disclosed he had received several
suggestions from the European Chamber of Commerce of the
Philippines and the American Chamber of Commerce on how
to address issues affecting business in the country,
among which is the creation of the special courts.
“So far
these cases are few and far between; however,
considering the high economic impact of these cases,
perhaps this is a noteworthy suggestion,” said Puno. He
added these cases may also be added to the jurisdiction
of existing commercial courts.
But
resolving issues involving foreign loans may also entail
local application of international laws, which remains
one of the biggest problems of the country’s judiciary.
On this,
the Chief Justice said that judges and justices are
having difficulty deciding when to exercise jurisdiction
in cases involving a foreign element, when to apply
foreign law, and when to recognize or enforce the
judgments of foreign courts.
Puno
acknowledged that local courts are also having problems
in the interpretation of international laws pertaining
to global security, health, trade, economics,
environment and human rights, among others.
“Truth
to tell, the problem of judges possessing incomplete
knowledge of the application of complex and, at times,
contradictory norms of international law is not merely
an imagined concern,” he said.
Puno
noted that international law is constantly evolving;
thus, the country’s judicial system should work for
proper adaptation by strengthening the capacity of the
courts and upgrading the level of knowledge of judges
and justices.
He said
the “capacity building on public and private
international law issues” launched by the Philippine
Judicial Academy (Philja) is intended to address these
problems.
Philja
had held lectures and workshop seminars covering areas
such as international commercial arbitration, corporate
governance, foreign direct investment and globalization,
use of private finance in public-service provision,
privatization, labor-market reform, and treatment of
trade unions.
“With
particular focus on international law issues bearing
commercial and economic implications, this project of
building the capacity of our justices, judges and court
attorneys serves to help the Philippine judiciary ensure
that the country honors its international obligations
vis-à-vis the limitations posed by domestic laws and
vice versa,” said Puno. |
