An assessment of R.A. No. 8246 (an act creating additional divisions in the court of appeals) and its effects in improving the administration of justice.

Abstract

This paper deals with the legislative history and interplay of factors that led to the enactment of Republic Act No. 8246 otherwise known as AN ACT CREATING ADDITIONAL DIVISIONS IN THE COURT OF APPEALS, INCREASING THE NUMBER OF COURT OF APPEALS JUSTICES FROM FIFTY-ONE (51) TO SIXTYNINE (69), AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE BATAS PAMBANSA BILANG 129, AS AMENDED OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE JUDICIARY REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1980, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. It is a piece of legislation that aimed to increase the Court of Appeals’ membership as a solution to address the perennial problem of docket congestion and to regionalize the additional Divisions of the Court by creating a permanent stations in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro thereby making the Court accessible to litigants situated in Visayas and Mindanao. In the context of the said organizational reforms, analysis shall be made based from the observations of several stakeholders through the results of Key Informant Interviews as well as pertinent theories with respect to the law’s avowed purpose of making justice more accessible, reduction of docket congestion, and improved efficiency in the administration of justice in the Philippines.