Code of Internal Procedures (2014)

ATENEO STUDENT JUDICIAL COURT

MVP 221, Ateneo de Manila University Loyola Schools Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City

STUDENT JUDICIAL COURT 1 CODE OF INTERNAL PROCEDURES

Code of Internal Procedures

Pursuant to Article XIII, Section 9 of the Constitution of the Undergraduate Students of the Ateneo de Manila Loyola Schools, the Student Judicial Court hereby adopts the following Code of Internal Procedures:— [17 May 2014]

1 Title This shall be known as the Code of Internal Procedures of the Student Judicial Court.

2 Interpretation and Terminologies Within this Code of Internal Procedures, unless contrary intention appears,—

(a) “Undergraduate Constitution” means the Constitution of the Undergraduate Students of the Ateneo de Manila Loyola Schools, as currently in operation;

(b) “Loyola Schools,” means the Ateneo de Manila Loyola Schools; (c) “Sanggunian” means the Sanggunian ng mga Mag-‐‑aaral ng mga Paaralang

Loyola ng Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila as provided for by the Undergraduate Constitution;

(d) “court” means the Student Judicial Court as provided for by the Undergraduate Constitution;

(e) “code” means this Code of Internal Procedures itself; (f) “Rules of Court” means the Rules of Court of the Student Judicial Court; (g) “calendar days” mean any day of the week, regardless of holidays or school

suspensions; (h) “regular school days” mean days where there are classes, as provided in the

academic calendar of the Loyola Schools, that have not been subsequently suspended by either the government or the Loyola Schools administration;

(i) “majority vote” means a fifty percent plus one (50%+1) vote; (j) “magistrates” mean all of the magistrates, including the Chief Magistrate; (k) “court officers” mean all of the non-‐‑magistrate members of the court; (l) words importing the masculine gender also include the feminine and words

importing the feminine also include the masculine; (m) words in the singular also include the plural and words in the plural also

include the singular.


TITLE I

GENERAL POLICIES AND PRINCIPLES

3 Purpose This code, along with the Rules of Court, shall serve as the binding authority on the procedure to be observed on the management of the court’s internal affairs.

4 Coverage This code covers without exception all magistrates and court officers.

5 Magisterial Actions Unless otherwise provided for in this code, provisions that require the action of the magistrates, whether or not including the Chief Magistrate, assumes that their collective action is required and that they will act on the basis of a majority vote.

6 Delegation of Powers (1) Unless otherwise provided for in this code, provisions that require the action of the

Chief Magistrate shall automatically be delegated to the remaining magistrates if the Chief Magistrate is incapable of acting.

(2) The incapability to act of the Chief Magistrate in subsection (1) refers to occasions where the Chief Magistrate—

(a) is himself the subject of the action required; (b) is unable to act due to academic or Sanggunian-‐‑related activities, health

reasons, or family obligations.

7 Court Directives (1) The magistrates reserve the right to issue directives that prescribe additional rules

and regulations on the administrative functions of the court. Such directives shall have the same force and effect as this code insofar as it is not inconsistent with it.

(2) Directives shall remain in effect so long as this code is in effect unless otherwise the directive provides otherwise, or the magistrates repeal it, or another directive supersedes it.

8 Court Emblem (1) The magistrates shall adopt an emblem for the court and direct its authorized use. (2) Aside for other purposes expressly allowed by the magistrates, the court’s emblem

may only be imprinted on— (a) decisions issued by the court; (b) official documents issued by the court; (c) official documents for internal use within the court.

9 Suspension of the Code This code, in whole or in part, may be suspended by the magistrates in cases of urgency for a period not exceeding one semester.


TITLE II

DEPARTMENTAL STRUCTURE

10 Departments All non-‐‑magistrate members of the court shall be organized into—

(a) the Internal Affairs Department to be headed by the Clerk of Court and composed of administrative officers;

(b) the Human Resources Department to be headed by the Head of Human Resources and composed of human resources officers;

(c) the Public Information Office to be headed by the Spokesperson and composed of public information officers.

11 Internal Affairs Department The duties and functions of the Internal Affairs Department include—

(a) the handling of administrative functions during court hearings and case conferences;

(b) the management and organization of all documents that are issued and received by the court and the management of court assets;

(c) any other duties and functions the magistrates or this code may direct.

12 Human Resources Department The duties and functions of the Internal Affairs Department include—

(a) the formulation and implementation of procedures, standards, and projects for member recruitment and training;

(b) the formulation and implementation of a system for project management and evaluation;


13 Public Information Office The duties and functions of the Public Information Office include—

(a) the dissemination of court decisions, and other publicly available court documents to the student body;

(b) the creation and maintenance of avenues of communication of the court to the student body;



TITLE III

COURT MEMBERSHIP

14 Admittance to the Court (1) The Human Resources Department shall implement procedures, standards, and

projects for member recruitment, subject to the review and approval of the magistrates.

(2) The admi)ance or removal of court officers shall always be ultimately decided by the magistrates.

15 Appointments (1) Department heads are appointed and relieved by the magistrates. (2) Department officers are appointed and relieved by their respective department heads

subject to the confirmation of the magistrates.

16 Leave of Absence (1) Magistrates and court officers may apply for a leave of absence lasting for a

minimum of fourteen (14) and a maximum of thirty (30) calendar days per semester. (2) Applications for a leave of absence must be in writing to the Chief Magistrate who

shall render a decision no later than two (2) calendar days. (3) Only the following cases shall be considered in the approval of an application for a

leave of absence— (a) the urgent health condition of the applicant; (b) the declining academic standing of the applicant, or the recommendation of a

Loyola Schools faculty or staff for the relief of extracurricular activities; (c) the death or urgent health condition of an applicant’s immediate family.

17 Resignation (1) Magistrates and court officers may tender resignation which must be effective no

earlier than fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the intended date of resignation. (2) The tendering of resignation must be in writing to the Chief Magistrate who will

decide on its approval. (3) The approval of resignations shall be decided upon whether an orderly transition of

duties and functions of the resigning magistrate or court officer has been arranged for by the same.


TITLE IV

MEETINGS AND ATTENDANCE

18 General Assembly A general assembly of all the magistrates and court officers shall be conducted no later than thirty (30) regular school days after the start of the academic school year.

19 Meetings (1) Meetings that require the a.endance of magistrates and court officers must be

approved by the Chief Magistrate and be announced no later than two (2) calendar days prior to the meeting.

(2) Emergency meetings may be held whenever deemed necessary by the Chief Magistrate who shall similarly prescribe the required a.endees. Emergency meetings must be announced no later than three (3) hours prior to the meeting.

20 Attendance (1) For meetings that require the a0endance of magistrates and court officers, the Clerk

of Court or any magistrate or court officer designated by the Chief Magistrate shall record the a*endance.

(2) For emergency meetings, any magistrate or officer designated by the Chief Magistrate shall record the a/endance.

(3) In taking a)endance, the a)endance taker may either do a roll call or take note of those who are present, as necessary, where—

(a) anyone who arrives ten (10) minutes after the commencement of the meeting is considered late and shall incur a half-‐‑absence;

(b) anyone who arrives after half of the total length of the meeting has elapsed is considered absent;

(c) anyone who leaves before half of the total length of the meeting has elapsed is considered absent.

(4) The a&endance taker shall certify the a&endance record and forward it to the Human Resources Department for recording. The Human Resources Department shall keep an a$endance record of all the magistrates and court officers.

21 Applications for Excusal (1) The Human Resources Department shall prescribe and receive forms to be

accomplished by those who wish to apply to have their absence, tardiness, or early departure excused. Only absences, tardiness, and early departures due to required academic or Sanggunian-‐‑related activities, family obligations, or health reasons shall be excused.

(2) Unless otherwise applied for, all absences, tardiness, and early departures are considered unexcused and shall be recorded against magistrates and officers. All applications for excuse must be submi+ed to the Human Resources Department no later than three (3) regular school days after the absence, tardiness or early departure from a meeting.


TITLE V

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION

22 General Docket The Clerk of Court shall keep and maintain a general docket wherein all petitions and motions filed before the court shall be kept and recorded. Entries shall be numbered according to the case under which they were filed and the chronological order wherein they were received.

23 Judgment Book The Clerk of Court shall keep and maintain a judgment book containing each judgment rendered by the court organized and numbered according to the case and chronological order under which they were issued.

24 Minutes of Meetings (1) Whenever the minutes of any meeting or proceeding is taken, it should contain—

(a) the date and venue of the meeting; (b) the start time, end time, and total duration of the meeting; (c) the required a+endees; (d) the a!endance record of the meeting as specified in section 20(4); (e) those who are allowed to have access to the minutes;

(2) The copies of minutes that are accessible to all members of the court shall be kept and maintained by the Internal Affairs Department.

25 Document Confidentiality (1) All court documents, whether in hardcopy or electronically stored, are by default

confidential and accessible only to the magistrates and court officers unless specifications to the contrary are provided for by the magistrates.

(2) The violation of document confidentiality is an offense subject to investigation for disbarment.

26 Correspondence (1) The Clerk of Court shall keep and maintain a record of all correspondence received

by the court to be filled out if the intended recipient is unavailable to personally receive a document. The record must contain—

(a) the name of the sender; (b) the name of the intended recipient; (c) the type of document received; (d) the date and time of receipt; (e) the signature of the sender.

(2) The intended recipient of the document shall sign on the record upon receipt of the document.


TITLE VI

COURT FACILITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT

27 Room Use and Decorum (1) All offenses and prohibited acts stipulated in the student handbook of the Loyola

Schools are likewise prohibited in the court room. (2) The court room should be kept clean and orderly at all times. Absolutely no li6ering

is allowed; all trash should be disposed off at the designated garbage bins. (3) The storage of materials by those who are not officially designated to use the court

room may be allowed at the sole discretion of the magistrates depending on the space occupied and the length of storage of the materials in the court room.

28 Borrowing of Court Furniture and Equipment (1) No furniture and equipment belonging to the court room may be taken out of the

court room without prior permission from the magistrates, which shall be certified by the Chief Magistrate signing the form stipulated in subsection (2).

(2) The Clerk of Court shall prescribe and receive forms to be accomplished in duplicate by those who wish to borrow court furniture or equipment. The original copy shall be kept by the Clerk of Court and the duplicate shall be kept by the borrower. The form must contain—

(a) the name of the borrower; (b) the detailed description of the furniture or equipment being borrowed; (c) the date and time of borrowing; (d) the expected date and time of return; (e) the signature of the borrower; (f) the signature of the Chief Magistrate.


TITLE VII

COURT FINANCES

29 General Ledger (1) The Finance Officer shall keep and maintain a general ledger containing all the

financial transactions of the court, including direct purchases and reimbursements. (2) Records of expenses must always be accompanied with the original copies official

receipts, as applicable.

30 Reimbursements (1) The Finance Officer shall prescribe and receive forms for reimbursements which

must contain— (a) the date of request; (b) the name of the person requesting reimbursement; (c) the descriptions of the items purchased and the corresponding amounts being

applied for reimbursement; (d) the dates and numbers of the official receipts for the items purchased; (e) the signature of the applicant for reimbursement.

(2) All applications for reimbursement must be accompanied with the original copies of the official receipts, to be similarly signed by the applicant for reimbursement, which must be kept by the Finance Officer.


TITLE VIII

OFFENSES AND SANCTIONS

31 Absences Court officers who incur more than a cumulative of four (4) unexcused absences within a semester shall be subject to investigation for disbarment.

32 Misrepresentation of the Court Court officers who misrepresent the court or use the court’s name or logo beyond what is prescribed in this code or what is approved by the magistrates shall be subject to investigation for disbarment.

33 General Sanctions Magistrates and court officers who fail to comply with the provisions of this code or any other rules and regulations of the court shall be subject to the following sanctions, unless otherwise this code provides for a different sanction,—

(a) for the first offense, a reprimand from the Chief Magistrate; (b) for the second offense, a public reprimand from the Chief Magistrate and a

probation, to be similarly prescribed by the Chief Magistrate; (c) for the third offense, an investigation for disbarment shall be initiated.

34 Disbarment of Court Officers (1) Subject to the provisions of this code, the magistrates may carry out investigations

for the disbarment of any court officer no earlier than three (3) regular school days after the receipt of the court officer of a notice of investigation for disbarment. The notice of investigation for disbarment must include the reason for investigation which includes, but are not limited to, the specific offenses or violations of the court’s rules and policies that were allegedly commi4ed by the court officer.

(2) A court officer currently being investigated for disbarment shall cease from performing any powers or functions afforded to him as a court officer.

(3) A court officer being investigated for disbarment has the right— (a) to know the full extent of his alleged offenses or violations; (b) to know and defend himself against any accuser, if any; (c) to defend himself or be defended by his chosen counsel, either verbally in the

presence of the magistrates or in writing through a sworn affidavit. (4) Hearings for disbarment are private and may only be conducted in the presence of

the magistrates, the court officer being investigated, and any one (1) counsel chosen by the court officer.

(5) Only current undergraduate students of the Loyola Schools may act as counsels to court officers being investigated for disbarment.

(6) The minutes of proceedings for disbarment shall be taken and be kept confidential, as prescribed by the magistrates.

(7) The magistrates must render a decision on the disbarment of court officers no later than fourteen (14) regular school days after the commencement of the investigation.


TITLE IX

AMENDMENTS AND TRANSITION

35 Amendments (1) Amendments to this code may be proposed by any magistrate or court officer. (2) Any amendment requires a vote of at least two-‐‑thirds of the magistrates after a two-‐‑

week reading period.

36 Separability Clause If the Undergraduate Constitution from the time this code is adopted is amended or a new constitution is adopted, this code shall continue to remain in full force and effect insofar as it is not inconsistent with the new constitution.

37 Effectivity This code shall take effect immediately upon promulgation by the magistrates.

Documents

Code of Internal Procedures (2014)