RULES OF COURT

STUDENT JUDICIAL COURT

1 Scope ............................................................................................................................................ 3 2 Jurisdictions ................................................................................................................................. 3 3 Responsibilities ............................................................................................................................ 3 4 Meetings ....................................................................................................................................... 3 5 Hearing Procedures ...................................................................................................................... 3 5.1 Process of Appeal for Consideration or Review ................................................................... 3 5.1.1 Appellate Jurisdiction .................................................................................................... 4 5.1.2 Original Jurisdiction....................................................................................................... 4 5.2 Petitions................................................................................................................................. 4 5.2.1 Acceptance of Petition ................................................................................................... 5 5.2.2 Rejection of Petition ...................................................................................................... 5 5.2.3 Motions to the Court ...................................................................................................... 5 5.3 Notices for Hearings ............................................................................................................. 5 5.4 Hearing .................................................................................................................................. 6 5.4.1 Contempt ........................................................................................................................ 6 5.5 Deliberations ......................................................................................................................... 7 5.6 Notification of Ruling ........................................................................................................... 7 5.6.1. Deadlock ....................................................................................................................... 7 5.6.2 Costs ............................................................................................................................... 7 5.7 Reconsideration..................................................................................................................... 7 5.8 Finality .................................................................................................................................. 7 5.9 Inhibition/ Leave ................................................................................................................... 8 6 Clerks of Court............................................................................................................................. 8 7 Archiving ..................................................................................................................................... 8 8 Amendments or Suspension of Rules Procedure ......................................................................... 8 9 Petitioners and Respondents ........................................................................................................ 8

The Rules of Court of the Student Judicial Court

1 Scope
This document shall govern the Student Judicial Court of Ateneo de Manila University. It shall be superseded only by the Constitution and any applicable Philippine law. Any matter of procedure not contained within this document shall be governed by the current version of Roberts Rules of Order, when applicable.

2 Jurisdictions
The jurisdiction of the Student Judicial Court, as set forth in the Constitution, includes determining "the constitutionality, legality, or jurisdiction of the acts, policies, and resolutions of Sanggunian officials and bodies, and other matters in the constitution. This venerable body shall have the power to determine which petitions come under its jurisdiction.

3 Responsibilities
Student Judicial Court Magistrates shall have the following responsibilities: All Magistrates are required to attend all regular meetings of the Student Judicial Court and hearings, unless excused by the Chief Magistrate. All Magistrates are expected to be knowledgeable of all Student Judicial Court and Sanggunian Governing Documents Neither the court, nor any Magistrates shall offer advisory opinions. This prohibits involvement in crafting of polices, acts, and legislation with the exception of reviews of the governing documents mandated by the Constitution and Bylaws. Magistrates shall be expected to maintain the highest judicial independence and integrity and as such, magistrates shall not work, participate, or be affiliated with any political campaign for candidates running for elected office in the Sanggunian.

4 Meetings
The Student Judicial Court may at its discretion hold regular meetings during the school year, which the Chief Magistrate will call and preside over. Hearing of petitions to the court shall not be included as a regular meeting.

5 Hearing Procedures
5.1 Process of Appeal for Consideration or Review

5.1.1 Appellate Jurisdiction

A judicial entity is qualified to be any body that the Student Judicial Court has supervisory or appellate jurisdiction. Shall the petition be a writ of certiorari (request for review) or appeal from a lower judicial entity where the court has appellate jurisdiction, the petition will only be entertained when such entity has given a written final and certified decision. The parties shall have seven working days from the certification of the decision from the lower judicial entity to file a writ of certiorari or appeal to the court. No appeal will be entertained unless such decision was certified. Appeals concerning a previous decision where the court has appellate jurisdiction may only be acknowledged given that it was filed by the petitioner and/ or respondent of the case.

5.1.2 Original Jurisdiction

Petitions circumventing any judicial entities and procedures by submitting it directly to the court will not be accepted where the court only has supervisory or appellate jurisdiction. Petitions shall only be considered where the court has original jurisdiction.

5.2 Petitions
Petitions to the Student Judicial Court shall be made, in accordance with the Constitution, and shall be directed to the Chief Magistrate. The petition shall include: (1) Name and contact information for the person making the complaint and of the respondent. (2) Specific Reason for making the complaint (i.e., the specific policy which is in need of interpretation or is suspected of being violated). (3) Information of any recourse taken prior to petitioning the Student Judicial Court (4) The desired outcome of the petitioner The petitions must be written in complete English, using a third person point of view. No later than two days after receiving the petition, the Chief Magistrate shall forward copies to all the Magistrates. The Student Judicial Court shall meet in one week to decide whether or not to consider the petition. The petition shall be considered if a simple majority of the magistrates votes to consider the petition.

5.2.1 Acceptance of Petition

If the Student Judicial Court decides to accept the petition, the hearing on the petition, if the court decides to conduct a hearing, shall be held no later than seven days after the said decision. Before coming to a decision of whether to accept the petition for review or consideration, the court shall inform the parties named and from the time the parties are informed, three days are to be given for any motions to the court. The Student Judicial Court has due discretion on whether a public hearing is to be held. If a public hearing will not take place, the court will inform the parties of such and the parties will have a maximum of five days to give their arguments to the court, depending on the notice of the court, but it shall be no less than one full day.

5.2.2 Rejection of Petition

If the Student Judicial Court decides not to accept a petition, it shall provide the petitioner with a rationale. Reasons for not considering a case include, but are not limited to precedent set by a previous court ruling, moot, lack of due merit, or the complaint addresses an issue outside of the Student Judicial Courts Jurisdiction. In deciding not to accept a petition, the court may refer the issue to a legislative committee or the COMELEC, or cite an entity it must appeal to first.

5.2.3 Motions to the Court

A motion filed by the petitioner, in accord to the petition or the respondent upon being notified of a petition must be done within the three day limit and must include the rationales for so. Motions include, but are not limited to, granting a stay on the application of a Sanggunian policy and rule for the time of the hearing, and a motion to dismiss.

5.3 Notices for Hearings

The Student Judicial Court shall give notice of any hearings in the following manner: 1. Notices must be sent out to all SJC Magistrates, the Sanggunian Top 4, and the respective parties, 2. The petitioner and respondent involved in the hearing must be notified via email and written notice with acknowledgement receipt. Other parties may be notified at the discretion of the court. 3. Additional methods of notice may be used but are not required. Possible methods include Electronic mailing lists, newsgroups, and campus mail notices.

5.4 Hearing

Oral Argument.

The hearing shall be called to order by the Chief Magistrate, if at least three of the other Magistrates are present. The hearing shall be designated as SJC- Hearing number- Academic Year. Each side in the petition shall have a spokesperson, who will be the only person to address the Magistrates, and to whom the Magistrates will address for their questions. The spokesperson of the side bringing the petition will make an opening statement to the Magistrates, and immediately proceed to the presentation of their case. Then, the spokesperson for the other side (Respondent) shall then make an opening statement and also proceed with their case. Each speaker is given a maximum of ten minutes for the opening statement and presentation of the cases. A maximum period of one hour is then allotted for Rebuttals. This section is included in the hearing process to give each party the chance to refute or debunk the case of the other, as well as defend or clarify their own points. The spokesperson has up to two minutes to deliberate with his party regarding the rebuttals, and may choose to yield to others in his party. After the one hour Rebuttal period, the spokesperson from the Respondent side shall first give their closing statement to be followed by the closing statement from the spokesperson of the Petitioners side. Each speaker is given five (5) minutes for this particular section. The Magistrates reserve the right to ask questions at any period of the hearing, as they deem fit. All questions shall be directed to the spokesperson. The spokesperson has up to two minute to deliberate with his party, at which point a response will be made to the court, not exceeding two minutes. During the answer period, the spokesperson may yield to others in his party. This is the only time that a person, other than the spokesperson may address the Magistrates.

5.4.1 Contempt
Shall a spokesperson or any person in any hearing that the court will undertake, or in the process of the petition process be cited in contempt, he or she shall be ordered out of the room, and if decided by the court fined or reprimanded if necessary, or be disbarred from appearing before the court, or any action the court sees fit.

5.5 Deliberations
After the hearing or presentation of arguments, the Magistrates shall deliberate. Only the magistrates of the Student Judicial Court shall be present during the deliberations and the minutes of the deliberation shall be kept confidential. The majority opinion is the opinion agreed upon by a 2/3 majority shall become binding The court reserves the right to seek counsel from outside sources in cases when the court lacks sufficient information to make a decision.

5.6 Notification of Ruling

After the majority opinion has been decided, all persons affiliated with the case shall be called back into a room to have the verdict read by the Chief Magistrate, at no point shall a deliberation process take longer than six days. At this point, any Magistrate(s) with dissenting opinions shall be allowed to read these. All opinions are to be typed, signed, and posted in the SJC board no later than three days after the hearing.

5.6.1. Deadlock
Shall the court not arrive at a ruling, then, shall it be an appeal from a lower entity, the decision of such entity shall stand, or shall it be a direct appeal, it shall be considered as though such appeal was dismissed. Nothing however in the acts of the court shall be taken to imply such action to be a matter of rejection of an appeal, unless otherwise directed.

5.6.2 Costs
The court may fine a party to the hearing for costs relating to the conduct of hearing, especially if it causes the court additional expenses, or as applicable damage to a party. Such costs however will only be given upon due consultation of the court with the Ateneo de Manila University Student Affairs or other relevant authority.

5.7 Reconsideration
No appeal for reconsideration of its decision, or an appeal for a hearing will be entertained if the appeal contains no substantial matter that the court overlooked, any new significant information that was not given at the trial or at the petition or any procedural missteps that the court may have committed. Shall this appeal be considered, the court may order a new hearing, or the court may give a summary judgment after considering the appeal.

5.8 Finality
No succeeding appeals will be entertained after an appeal for reconsideration has been given and the court has upheld the decision. Shall this take place it shall be considered that the court has upheld the case with finality.

Appeals must be given within five days of the final decision being posted on the SJC Board.

5.9 Inhibition/ Leave

Any magistrate for personal reasons, may upon receiving notice of a hearing, seek permission from the Chief Magistrate to inhibit himself from the deliberation, by filling a written leave. Should the Chief Magistrate file a leave, it should be approved by a simple majority of the remaining magistrates. In addition he or she shall appoint an interim Chief Magistrate over the case.

6 Clerks of Court
Minutes shall be kept at all Student Judicial Court hearings. The Chief Magistrate shall designate a member of the SJC, preferably a Prosecutor, who shall be unaffiliated with the parties involved in the petition, to take the minutes. An official time keeper shall be designated by the court to keep track of the time allotments. Every time a magistrate addresses the court, time shall be temporarily suspended.

7 Archiving
The Secretary-General of the Student Judicial Court shall be responsible for archiving all minutes from hearings, majority opinions, and dissenting opinions.

8 Amendments or Suspension of Rules Procedure

The Student Judicial Court Procedural Rules may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Magistrates following a two week reading period. When questioned or in cases of urgency, any item of the SJC Procedural Rules may be suspended for any period of time not to exceed a semester by a two-thirds vote of the Magistrates.

9 Petitioners and Respondents

Only people and institutions covered by the constitution may act or be referred as the petitioners and respondents.

Approved on June 6, 2007

So Ordered.

CESARE MIKHAIL CEJAS

CHIEF MAGISTRATE

RICHMOND ORTIZ DY
MAGISTRATE

MARIA ARA GARCIA

MAGISTRATE

KLAIRE ALDYN KING

MAGISTRATE

MARVYN SUMNER LLAMAS

MAGISTRATE

JULIE ANNE LLANTO ORTUOSTE

MAGISTRATE