The METCJAP was invited to become member of the very prestigious International Association of Judges (IAJ).
IAJ is an organization of Judges Associations worldwide founded in Salzburg Austria in 1953. The IAJ membership is per Judges organization, not individual membership (unlike the International Association of Women Judges for example). In sum, the IAJ is an organization of Judges associations that seeks to strengthen judicial independence through various projects and programs. The main purpose of the IAJ is to safeguard the independence of the judiciary worldwide.
Only the MetCJAP from among the other judges associations in the country that has been granted the honor of having this invitation to apply for membership to the IAJ.
Aside from the prestige of being the only judges association in the country to be a member of the IAJ, the membership with the IAJ will bring great benefits to our membership Judges as it will give us the opportunity to be invited to Study Commissions and International Conventions.
After the submission of requirements for the METJAP’s applocation, the Central Council of the IAJ ON April 23, 2019 appointed two (2) rapporteurs, Justice Tsogt Tsend from Mongolia and Judge Sabine Matejka from Austria to conduct background investigation on METCJAP. Justice Tsogt Tsend was tasked among others to travel to the Philippines and conduct an interview with several stakeholders in the Philippine Judiciary in order to ascertain the judicial independence of the Philippine Judiciary. He is likewise mandated to submit a report to the IAJ Central Council after his visit and conferences in the Philippines.
From July 24 to 26, 2019, Judge Tsend had a conference with the SC Justice Antonio Tirol Carpio and Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez, Justice Noel Gimenez Tijam and Justice Toribio Ilao of the JBC, Justice Adolfo Azcuna of Philja, Secretary of Justice Menanrdo Guevarra and IBP National President Atty. Egon Cayosa.
Pending the approval of our application, the METCJAP was invited to attend as observer/member applicant to The 62nd annual meeting of the International Association of Judges will be held in Nur-Sultan (Astana) on September 15-19, 2019.
President’s Report
Check the website of IAJ at www.iaj-uim.org for more details.