The SC’s 125th: From tradition to innovation

Last June 11, incumbent and retired justices, judges, judicial officials, and court workers gathered at the Supreme Court quadrangle to mark the highest tribunal’s 125th anniversary, beginning with a Holy Mass. A fitting celebration for an institution that has outlasted colonial regimes, survived global wars, and weathered countless political storms. However, reflecting on the past 25 years since I wrote my book, “A Centenary of Justice,” to memorialize the Court’s 100th birthday in 2001, I think our people remain deeply unsettled by modern afflictions that severely test our legal traditions. They demand innovative reforms.

THE ANNIVERSARY’S THEME, “Mula sa Tradisyon, Tungo sa Inobasyon,” was brilliantly captured by three major discourses that I will interconnect into three propositions: (1) the preservation of liberty through tradition, (2) the expansion of prosperity through institutional independence, and (3) the preservation of tradition and prosperity in the age of innovation under the rule of law.

First, the integration of liberty through tradition was proposed by the homily of Manila Archbishop Jose F. Cardinal Advincula, which reminded us of the timeless Gospel mandate: “Freely you have received; freely you are to give.” The bedrock of our Constitution is built from the wisdom we received “… from centuries of experience, sacrifice, and struggle…” He stressed that we must “exercise and pronounce such wisdom for the well-being and flourishing of our people.”

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Crucially, these enduring principles of liberty must transcend the law’s texts and the courthouses’ walls. Unless they translate tradition into concrete realities for ordinary citizens, liberty crumbles into jarred pieces of judicial tyranny.

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True also, a free society requires economic means to thrive, which slides to the second proposition: the independence of our judiciary is the essence of our national prosperity. This intrinsic connection between the Court and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was brilliantly articulated by BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. during his presentation to the Court of the “125th Anniversary Commemorative Coin” and the new “P3,000 banknote.”

He ably pointed out that institutions are the “rules of the game” of the economy and “[t]he Court, in the exercise of its power of judicial review, interprets those rules to ensure fairness and justice for all.” Indeed, the Court’s independence is a condition sine qua non of the independence of other institutions. In navigating the turbulent economic seas, the BSP looks to the Court as a steadfast lighthouse and as a beacon of independence that guides the BSP through dark and “uncertain times.”

This shared commitment to independence between our judicial and financial pillars was memorialized by the BSP’s issuance of the commemorative banknote depicting a vertically oriented Lady Justice as the towering symbol of fairness and protection under the law.

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MOREOVER, I AM CONVINCED THAT THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE lies in simultaneously preserving liberty and expanding prosperity under the rule of law during the advent of innovation. Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo accepted this formidable task with admirable foresight through the Court’s five-year “Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027.”

Framing this vision was the CJ’s keynote address. He said that “[b]eyond efficiency and modernization, our reforms seek to build a Judiciary that is resilient—one capable of withstanding disruption, of responding thoughtfully to emerging challenges, and of adapting with clarity, competence, and purpose.”

AS IT EMBRACES THE ALGORITHMS OF INNOVATION to expedite court processes, the Court, I firmly believe, must never lose its soul. While cynics prophesy that the artificial intelligence of innovation will one day replace our courts, I remain enormously optimistic about a justice system that remains steadfastly grounded on the essence of human judgment.

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Gesmundo rightly recognized this by honoring the retired magistrates (whom I am privileged to lead) and the thousands of dedicated court personnel who “shared in the vision” that kept the wheels of justice turning even before the era of machines.

Nevertheless, we should remember that members of the judiciary carry the dual responsibility of preserving justice through tradition while expanding its reach through innovation. After all, a nation cannot claim true liberty if its people are mired in injustice, just as it cannot be truly prosperous if its citizens harbor a lingering distrust of technological advancements.

In sum, the three major speeches collectively chart the path of the Court: Advincula reminded us to anchor liberty to the enduring wisdom of tradition. Remolona underscored the institutional independence that embeds economic prosperity. Gesmundo demonstrated how to integrate the principles of tradition with interdependence in the age of innovation. Armed with these pillars, I am certain the Court will not only weather more storms in the future; it will also hold fast to the rule of law—just as it always has—to ensure that liberty and prosperity are enjoyed by all our people, especially the poor and the marginalized.

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