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Republic Act No. 8557.
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 8557
AN
ACT
ESTABLISHING
THE PHILIPPINE JUDICIAL ACADEMY, DEFINING ITS POWERS AND FUNCTIONS,
APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Section 1. It is hereby
declared
a policy of the State to ensure an efficient and credible Judiciary.
Towards
this end, it is imperative to provide members of the Judiciary and
prospective
applicants with continuing good education and training.
Sec. 2. To carry out
the policy enunciated in Sec. 1 hereof, there is hereby established
a Philippine Judicial Academy, hereinafter referred to as PHILJA, which
shall be a separate component unit of the Supreme Court and shall
operate
under its administration, supervision and control.
Sec. 3. The PHILJA
shall
serve as a training school for justices, judges, court personnel,
lawyers
and aspirants to judicial posts. For this purpose, it shall provide and
implement a curriculum for judicial education, and shall conduct
seminars,
workshops and other training programs designed to upgrade their legal
knowledge,
moral fitness, probity, efficiency, and capability. It shall perform
such
other functions and duties as may be necessary in carrying out its
mandate.
Sec. 4. The Academy
shall
be located in Tagaytay City, or in such other place or places as the
Supreme
Court may determine.
Sec. 5. The Academy
shall
have a Governing Board to be known as the Board of Trustees, composed
of
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as ex-officio Chairman, the
Senior
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court as ex-officio Vice
Chairman;
the Chancellor of the Academy, the Presiding Justices of the Court of
Appeals
and the Sandiganbayan, the Court Administrator, the President of the
Philippine
Judges Association; and the President of the Philippine Association of
Law Schools, as ex-officio members; and a Judge of a first
level
court, as appointive member, who shall have served as such for at least
five (5) years and has taught in a reputable law school for the same
number
of years.
The appointive member
shall
be appointed by the Supreme Court and shall serve for a term of one (1)
calendar year, and may be reappointed for another term.
The ex-officio members
of the Board of Trustees shall serve as such for the duration of their
incumbency in their respective offices.
All members shall serve
without compensation but shall be entitled to reasonable
honoraria/allowance
for the performance of their duties.
Sec. 6. The Executive
Officials of the Academy shall be composed of a Chancellor, a
Vice-Chancellor
and an Executive Secretary, to be appointed by the Supreme Court for a
term of two (2) years and without prejudice to subsequent
reappointments.
The Chancellor and Vice
Chancellor shall have as requisite qualifications, unless otherwise
provided
by the Supreme Court, meritorious service as member of a collegiate
appellate
court for at least five (5) years, or as Regional Trial Court Judge for
at least ten (10) years and, in all these instances, meritorious
service
as teacher of law in a reputable law school for at least five (5) years.
The Executive Secretary
shall have the same requisite qualifications and the same compensation
as a Regional Trial Court Judge. He or she shall serve on a full time
basis
and shall be the ex-officio Recorder-Secretary of the Board of
Trustees.
The incumbent Executive
Officials of the Academy who were duly appointed by the Supreme Court
and
qualified as such shall continue in their respective positions until
the
expiration of their initial terms, without prejudice to their
re-appointment
as provided in this Sec..
The Chancellor shall
have
the compensation and privileges of an Associate Justice of the Supreme
Court.
The Vice-Chancellor
shall
have the compensation and privileges of an Associate Justice of the
Court
of Appeals.
For purposes of
retirement
privileges, seniority, and other benefits, service of the executive
officials
in the Academy shall be considered as service in the Judiciary except
in
those cases not allowed by law.
The executive officials
of the Academy shall not engage in the private practice of any
profession.
Sec. 7. The Academy
shall
be staffed by a Corps of Professorial Lecturers. A Lecturer shall be
nominated
by any member of the Board of Trustees. Upon a majority vote of the
Board,
the nomination shall be submitted to the Supreme Court for approval and
formal appointment for a term of two (2) years without prejudice to
subsequent
reappointments.
Sec. 8. The academic
courses and the publication of a Judicial Journal and other legal
writings
shall be determined by the Chancellor in consultation with the Corps of
Professorial Lecturers and approved by the Board of Trustees.
Sec. 9. The criteria
for the selection and admission of participants shall be determined by
the Chancellor in consultation with the Corps of Professorial Lecturers
and approved by the Board of Trustees.
Sec. 10. As soon as
PHILJA
shall have been fully organized with the composition of its Corps of
Professorial
Lecturers and other personnel, only participants who have completed the
programs prescribed by the Academy and have satisfactorily complied
with
all the requirements incident thereto may be appointed or promoted to
any
position or vacancy in the Judiciary.
Sec. 11. The PHILJA may
enter into consortium agreements with educational and training
institutions
for the development and implementation of programs for orientation,
career
development and continuing judicial education: Provided, That the
honoraria,
allowances, and other emoluments of personnel from the institutions
involved
with the consortium agreements shall not be taken from the funds of the
PHILJA.
Sec. 12. All
conventions
of judges and court personnel shall include pertinent Academy
educational
programs under such rules and requirements as the Academy may prescribe.
Sec. 13. All income,
legacies, gifts and donations for the benefit of the Academy or for its
support or maintenance shall be exempt from the payment of all forms of
taxes, donors and donees' taxes, fees, income tax, real estate,
assessments
and other charges of the government, its branches and subdivisions.
Sec. 14. All legacies,
gifts and donations to the Academy established under this law shall
constitute
a special fund to be known as the Judicial Academy Fund. This fund
shall
be administered and disbursed by the Board of Trustees of the Academy
exclusively
for the purposes of this Act.
Sec. 15. All
properties,
real or personal, now pertaining to the Academy shall be deemed
automatically
transferred to the Academy established herein upon the effectivity of
this
Act, unless otherwise provided in the original deed of conveyance,
donation,
grant or transfer.
Sec. 16. The amount
necessary
to carry out the purposes of this Act, including the operation,
maintenance
and improvement of the Academy shall be included in the General
Appropriations
Act for 1999 and every year thereafter under the program of the Supreme
Court of the Philippines.
Sec. 17. If any of the
Sec.s or provisions of this Act is adjudged invalid, all its other
provisions
not affected thereby shall remain in force.
Sec. 18. All laws,
rules
and regulations that may be inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act
are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
Sec. 19. This Act shall
take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete publication in the
Official
Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation,
whichever
comes earlier.
Approved:
February 26, 1998
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