Reigh Harvy D.

Canta
2nd year Block 4
Criminal Procedures

ENHANCED JUSTICE ON WHEELS

(MOBILE COURTS)

The Justice on wheels is an access to justice programme which was commenced in 2004 by the
country’s Supreme Court. Justice on wheels aims to bring justice closer to the poo by providing
on-the spot fast and free dispute resolution services – adjudication, mediation and conciliation.

The program holds court hearings that include promulgation of decisions and issuance of orders
involving detention prisoners, mobile court-annexed mediation and information dissemination
on recent laws to guide barangay officials on how to handle local disputes and other pertinent
activities.

It targets poor prisoners whose cases range from petty as vagrancy and domestic problems to
the more serious cases of homicide or murder in places where there are lack of judges or where
the jails are congested.

Under the jail decongestion component of EJOW, criminal cases are heard with dispatch
inside the custom-built bus, also known as the MOBILE COURT.

It begins with the inventory of dockets of different courts and and depending on the result of
the inventory and upon the assessment of the EJOW Committee, a mobile court bus is deployed
to a particular locality.

With the immediate resolution of the cases, some detention prisoners are released, thereby
decongesting not only the courts’ docket but also the jails in the country.

In its information dissemination component, lectures are given to barangay officials and
members of the police force on varying topics, such as Anti-Violence Against Women and their
Children, Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, Agrarian Reform Law, Environmental Law, Land
Registration Law, Barangay Protection Order, etc.

The Philippine Judicial Academy, the educational arm of the judiciary, provides the lecturers for
these topics, while the local government units concerned usually provide the venue.
The purpose of the information dissemination is to educate those who will be in first contact
with prospective litigants in courts.

The dialogue is being conducted to obtain firsthand information about problems and grievances
of lower court employees and, ultimately, find solutions to address these problems.
A medical and dental mission is also being provided under the EJoW program, while the free
legal assistance component is being undertaken with the assistance from local chapters of the
Integrated Bar of the Philippines and representatives of the Public Attorney’s Office of the
Department of Justice.

The first mobile court travelled Metro Manila roads in 2004 for the SC’s 23-day pilot run
covering several youth reception centers, juvenile detention facilities and jails.

The fully air-conditioned EJOW bus has two main sections -- the front section which serves as
the courtroom and the rear section which serves as the mediation room.
The EJOW is provided with a presiding judge, a clerk of court, a prosecutor, a public attorney, a
court stenographer, a docket clerk, a process server, a driver, and a security guard.

SOURCE:
https://manilastandard.net/news/national/276123/eighty-prisoners-released-through-sc-s-
enhanced-justice-on-wheels.html