Alte Bande reißen nicht? Richterliche (Un-)Abhängigkeit am philippinischen Supreme Court

Abstract

The Philippine Supreme Court likes to keep its business under lock and key. Yet, in the recent past the open clash between the Court and the Executive over former president Arroyo’s attempt to leave the country and the rigorous impeachment of Chief Justice Corona promptly drew the public’s attention to the 15 highest magistrates and their professional integrity and independence. Not only did these two events arise from deficient electoral modes that swept the judges into office, but also unveiled hidden liaisons between individual justices and their appointing presidents. In his attempt to reestablish the government’s credibility, President Aquino publicly victimized his most influential political counterparts, but failed to obey to decisive constitutional norms himself. Basically, the Philippine Constitution laid the ground for an independent judiciary and only needs minor tweaking regarding the composition of the Judicial and Bar Council as well as the election of the Chief Justice. Hence, normative consistency on the part of both the Supreme Court judges and the president will be the key determinant of a fresh start in relations between the Philippine executive and the judiciary. Until then, the Philippines has to be considered a “delegative democracy”.