The President of the Supreme Court of the Philippines visits the University of Malaga

A delegation from the Supreme Court of the Philippines, led by its president, Alexander Gahon Gesmundo, visited the University of Malaga (UMA).  

This visit took place within the framework of the Erasmus + Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education for the Legal and Social Advancement of the Philippines Project, led by the University of Malaga and involving the University of DEUSTO, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, University College of Dublin, as well as the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, University of San Agustin, Ateneo de Zamboanga University and the Philippine Judicial Academy under the Supreme Court.  

The purpose of this European project is to contribute to the improvement of the academic curriculum of Philippine universities and to the improvement and modernisation of law, with the main objectives being the promotion of human rights, the protection of minorities, the promotion of multilingualism, and the assurance of gender equality. The project coordinator is Professor of Civil Law José Manuel de Torres Perea. 

The Philippine delegation was composed of 19 people, including the Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy, Ms. Rosmari Declaro Carandang, and several Supreme Court justices. The members of the delegation visited the Faculty of Law, where they greeted its dean, Juan José Hinojosa Torralvo; the City of Justice, where they were received by the president of the Provincial Court, Lourdes García Ortiz, and also participated in the European Congress of Criminology, invited by Professor of Criminal Law José Luis Díez Ripollés. The main event of the visit was the seminar on "Modernisation of Law and New Technologies" which was held in the Rector's Meeting Room, in which the application of computer tools in the process was discussed; the recent jurisprudential evolution of the European Court of Human Rights, especially in the field of terrorism, and the modernisation of Civil Law. On behalf of the dean, the delegation was received by the deputy dean of Social Projection and Communication, Juan Antonio García Galindo. 

As a result of this visit, the Supreme Court of the Philippines has approved that a seminar on the modernisation of Private Law will be held next year in its judicial school, a seminar focused on the training of judges and magistrates, which will be taught by professors from the partner universities in the CALESA consortium. This visit embodies the recovery of the close legal bond that previously existed between the Spanish and Philippine legal communities, a link that had been lost in recent decades, and that, thanks to this project, led by the UMA, now sees the light again. 

During the current year, more than 20 UMA professors have participated in different seminars in the Philippines, and another 40 are expected to travel to the Philippines during the next academic year. Finally, the next activity programmed in the framework of the CALESA Project will be the visit to the UMA of the Rector of the University of the Philippines, accompanied by a delegation of 100 professors of the University on 27 and 31 October 2022.  

Sent by José Antonio Sierra, Hispanismo advisor.