THE Consultative Committee (ConCom) tasked to draft a new constitution has proposed the creation of three supreme courts and specialized courts to “speed up the delivery of justice.”The proposed three high tribunals are the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Administrative Court—all expected to “make for a more efficient judicial system and unclog the dockets” of the Supreme Court. The Philippine Supreme Court handles constitutional questions, on top of other cases as part of the regular court system. The ConCom also wants to remove “non-judicial functions” from the Supreme Court such as resolving electoral protests of senators and members of the House of Representatives. It will review final judgments and orders of lower courts except those within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Constitutional Court and Federal Administrative Court, issues of jurisdiction of any lower court, and criminal offenses in which the penalty is life imprisonment or death. The three other members will be appointed by the Federal Administrative Court en banc and the rest, by the Commission on Appointments or Congress.

Source: Manila Times May 21, 2018 16:07 UTC