MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA), the second highest tribunal of the land, was organized on February 1, 1936, by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 3 promulgated on December 31, 1935, with its 11 Judges.

With the enactment of Commonwealth Act. No. 259 dated April 7, 1938, the appellate judges were named justices and the composition of the Court of Appeals was increased to 15 justices. Executive Order No. 4 was issued by the Executive Commission on February 5, 1942, again increasing the number of justices to 17. In the latter part of 1944, it was regionalized into five Districts – Court of Appeals for Northern, Central, and Southern Luzon, for Manila, and for Visayas and Mindanao.

During the Japanese Occupation, the Court was abolished in 1945 when President Sergio S. Osmeña, Sr. issued Executive Order No. 37. With the passage of Republic Act (RA) No. 52 sponsored by Senator Vicente J. Francisco on October 4, 1946, the Court of Appeals was re-created, consisting of a presiding justice and 14 associate justices. The composition of the Court was increased to 18 by RA No. 1605, then to 24 justices by RA No. 5204 on June 16, 1968. The number of CA justices was again increased to 36 in 1973 and to 45 in 1978.

On January 17, 1983, a thorough judicial reorganization under Batas Pambansa Blg. 129 through Executive Order 864 was issued, renaming the Court of Appeals into Intermediate Appellate Court and its membership enlarged to 50 associate justices and a presiding justice. However, only 37 justices were appointed.

On July 28, 1986, President Corazon C. Aquino issued Executive Order No. 33 restoring the original name of the Court of Appeals with a Presiding Justice and 50 Associate Justices.

On December 30, 1996, RA No. 8246 created six more divisions in the Court, thereby increasing the number of divisions from 17 to 23 and its membership from 51 to 69 justices.

The Court of Appeals reviews the decisions and final orders of all the Regional Trial Courts. It also reviews decisions and resolutions in administrative cases of the Ombudsman, and those of the Department of Justice and other agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions, including the Office of the President. The decisions and resolutions of the National Labor Relations Commission are now initially reviewable by the Court of Appeals, instead of a direct recourse to the Supreme Court, via petition for certiorari under Rule 65.

In its 75 years of existence, the Court of Appeals has had 352 justices with 59 Presiding Justices. Seventy-six were promoted to the Supreme Court and seven of them became Chief Justice.

Currently, under Presiding Justice Andres B. Reyes, Jr., the CA has embarked on several projects to make the Court more responsive to the demands of the times. It launched Zero Backlog Project 2010 and instituted the new and improved Court of Appeals Management Information System to provide real-time monitoring and tracking of cases, including Cebu and Cagayan de Oro Stations, where a similar system was launched on September 20, 2010, and on October 26, 2010, respectively. The system is designed such that litigants from any corner of the country can access information regarding the status of their cases with their computers. The court is likewise making preparations for the electronic filing of cases, thus making the court truly accessible. The total computerization of the court as well as some changes in the processing of court documents has tremendously added to the court’s capacity to make court decisions even faster. The launching of these records management systems was accompanied with employee morale and training programs, thus making the employees of the court true partners in the dispensation of justice. This complements the earlier opening of the Court’s One-Stop Processing Center on September 15, 2008, where basic public front line functions were consolidated in one place.

Being the second highest court of the land, the Court of Appeals handles around 90 percent of all cases elevated to the third-level courts, often involving complicated issues and voluminous records, thus sharpening the skills and enhancing the proficiency of Court of Appeals Justices in almost all fields of law.

As the Court of Appeals celebrates its 75th anniversary, it looks forward to the future, guided by the chosen Diamond Anniversary theme, “Conquering New Heights as Dynamic Icon of Justice.” We congratulate the Court of Appeals headed by its Presiding Justice, Andres B. Reyes, Jr., its Associate Justices, Clerks of Court, other Officers and Members, on the occasion of its 75th Anniversary.

We wish them all the best and success in all their endeavors.