Justice Gaerlan: CPRA Signals Rebirth of Legal Community
May 3, 2023
Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan shared to his fellow Bedans the salient portions of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA), which he said signaled “the rebirth of the legal community.”
Speaking at the 2nd Law Colloquium: The Dean Emeritus Virgilio B. Jara Series held at the Jonathan Sy Auditorium, San Beda University in Mendiola, Manila on April 29, 2023, Justice Gaerlan brought the CPRA to the fore as he discussed its significance.
The CPRA, which replaces the 34-year old Code of Professional Responsibility which was promulgated in 1988, begins with a preamble that describes it as “as an institutional imperative, [that] is meant to foster an environment where ethical conduct performs a dedicated role in the administration of justice.”
Justice Gaerlan said in his keynote that the CPRA has abandoned its predecessor’s duty-based framework and now embraces a value-centered structure. He added that such structural change underscores that all ethical rules revolve around seven core values that lawyers must possess: independence, propriety, fidelity, competence, diligence, equality, and accountability.
He likewise revealed that the CPRA does not only furnish norms of conduct, but most importantly, protects them by ensuring the prompt and reasonable payment of their legal fees, and the enforcement of attorney’s liens. It also ensures the observance of due process in all administrative proceedings against lawyers, a more streamlined and efficient procedure of investigation, and a fair system of peer review, by having members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – brethren in the legal profession, initially investigate the complaints against errant lawyers.
Justice Gaerlan appealed to the legal community to make CPRA their “way of life by living according to its precepts.”
“Let us work hand in hand to ensure the success of our new code of ethics. Together, we will usher change to the legal community, improve the administration of justice, and restore the people’s faith and confidence in the legal profession…‘The CPRA signals the rebirth of the legal community. Ethically responsible and accountable lawyers are the future of the legal profession—take an active role and be a part of this wonderful evolution,” said Justice Gaerlan, who graduated from San Beda College of Law in 1983 and is the Vice-Chairperson of the Supreme Court Sub-Committee for the Revision of the Code of Professional Responsibility. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)