The Supreme Court, during its En Banc Session in Baguio City on Tuesday, unanimously approved the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA).
The CPRA (A.M. No. 22-09-01-SC), which will be launched on Thursday, April 13, 2023, is part of the Supreme Court’s plan to update the 34-year-old Code of Professional Responsibility and craft a modern, relevant, and responsive guide for lawyers’ conduct.
The National Launch of the CPRA will gather over 250 members of the Bench and the Bar, prosecutors, and other members of the legal profession and the academe.
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo will deliver the keynote speech while Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen will deliver the inspirational message during the Launch.
Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee for the Revision of the Code of Professional Responsibility will give the opening remarks while Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, Vice-Chairperson of the Sub-Committee, will give the closing remarks. Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan, Vice Chairperson of the Subcommittee, will deliver a message of gratitude.
Messages of support will be delivered by H.E. Luc Veron, Ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines; Mr. Alexander O’Hara, Embassy Second Secretary for Politics, Australian Embassy in the Philippines; Mr. Sam Chittick, Country Representative, The Asia Foundation, and Mr. Olivier-Georges Lermet, Senior Resident Policy Advisor, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. There will also be a signing of the Manifesto of Commitment to Ethical Responsibility.
The National Launch is organized by the Supreme Court in cooperation with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Philippine Association of Law Schools; with support from the European Union through the Governance in Justice Programme II (GOJUST II) and the Australian Government through The Asia Foundation and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The National Launch of the CPRA is the culmination of the five-leg Ethics Caravan, a series of consultative discussions, held in the cities of Cebu, Davao, Naga, Baguio, and Manila and organized by the Supreme Court Sub-Committee for the Revision of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
Over 2,000 legal practitioners nationwide took part in the Ethics Caravan held from September 2022 to January 2023.