CIRCULAR
NO. 30-91
TO: THE
COURT OF APPEALS, SANDIGANBAYAN, COURT OF TAX APPEALS, REGIONAL TRIAL
COURTS,
SHARI’A DISTRICT COURTS, METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURTS, MUNICIPAL TRIAL
COURTS
IN CITIES, MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS, MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURTS,
SHARI’A
CIRCUIT COURTS AND TO ALL OTHERS CONCERNED
SUBJECT:
GUIDELINES ON THE FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR.
For your information
and guidance, quoted hereunder is the Resolution of the Court En
Banc
dated February 26, 1991:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"RE: Guidelines
on the functions of the office of the Court Administrator. – The
Court
Resolved to APPROVE the guidelines on the functions of the Office of
the
Court Administrator, to wit:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
GUIDELINES
ON
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR
I. General
Considerations
A. The
Supreme Court
exercises administrative supervision over all lower courts. In the
discharge
of its administrative functions, the Court is assisted by the Court
Administrator
and the Deputy Court Administrators [P.D. No. 828, as amended by P.D.
No.
842]. The Court thus acts through the Court Administrators in the
exercise
of its administrative functions. [See A.M. No. 343-RTJ In Re: RTC Judge
of Balanga, Bataan].cralaw:red
B. The
rationalization
of the allocation of duties and functions of the Office of the Court
Administrator
is needed for a more systematic workflow.cralaw:red
C. The work
attended
to by the Office of the Court Administrator, either on its
responsibility
or with the approval of the Court En Banc, may be classified
into
the following categories:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
1.
Judicial discipline
of lower court justices, judges and personnel;
2.
Administrative
interventions in case management of lower courts, including designation
of Executive Judges and detail of judges to other courts;
3.
Preparation of
draft circulars;
4. Public
assistance
and information;
5.
Personnel administration; and cralaw:red
6. Liaison
with the
Executive and Legislative Departments.
II. Matters
to be
attended by the Court En Banc
A. Disciplinary
Matters
1. Justices
and Judges – Judicial discipline matters involving the justices
and judges of all lower courts [Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan,
Court
of Tax Appeals, Regional Trial Courts, Metropolitan Trial Courts, MTCC,
MCTC, Shari’a Courts] filed with the Office of the Court Administrator
or the lower courts shall be immediately referred to the Court En
Banc
for appropriate action.
2. Lower
Court
Personnel
a. Light
offenses:
(1)
Disciplinary
matters involving light offenses as defined under the Civil Service
Law,
Administrative Code of 1987, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical
Standards
for Public Officials and Employees [Rep. Act. 6713] where the penalty
is
reprimand, suspension for not more than thirty days, or a fine not
exceeding
thirty days’ salary, and as classified in Civil Service Resolution No.
30, Series of 1989, shall be acted upon by the appropriate supervisory
official of the lower court concerned.
(2) The
appropriate
supervisory officials are the Presiding Justices/Presiding Judge of the
lower collegiate courts anf the Executive Judges of the trial courts
with
respect to the personnel of their respective courts, except those
directly
under the individual Justices and Judges, in which case, the latter
shall
be their appropriate supervisory officials.
(3) The
complaint for
light offenses whether filed with the Court, the Office of the Court
Administrator,
or the lower court shall be heard and decided by the appropriate
supervisory
official concerned.
b. Grave
Or Less
Grave Offenses
All
administrative
complaints for grave or less grave offenses as defined in the Codes
hereinbefore
referred to shall be immediately referred to the Court En Banc
for
appropriate action within 15 days from receipt by the Court
Administrator
if filed directly with him, otherwise, within 15 days likewise from
receipt
by him from the appropriate supervisory officials concerned.
c. Conduct
of Investigation
(1) The
investigation
of administrative complaints by the appropriate supervisory officials
shall,
as much as practicable, conform with the Rules of Procedure established
by the Civil Service Commission under Resolution No. 89-779.
(2) In light
offenses,
the respondent may appeal to the Court En Banc within 30 days
from
receipt of the administrative decision but appeal shall not stay
enforcement
thereof unless otherwise ordered by the Court En Banc or any
Division
to which the case may be assigned.
B. Designation
of
Judges
(1)
Designation
of Executive Judges and Vice-Executive Judges as well as temporary
detail
of Judges to other branches or administrative areas shall be made by
the
Court En Banc.
(2)
Designation of Municipal
Judges to act on cadastral cases as well as their temporary detail to
other
branches within the same administrative area, shall be made by the
Executive
Judge of the RTC with supervision over them.
(3)
Designation of Municipal
Judges or their detail to branches outside the administrative area of
supervision
of their Executive Judge of the RTC shall be made by the Court En
Banc.
C. Request
for transfer
of cases from one court, administrative area or judicial region to
another
and/or transfer of venue of cases to avoid miscarriage of justice as
provided
for in Section 5(4), Article VIII of the Constitution.
D. Amendment,
modification and/or revocation of Administrative Orders and Circulars
issued
by the Supreme Court.
E. Matters
for
policy determination.
III.
Matters to be
attended by the Court Administrator
A. Personnel
Administration
Appointments
of
all lower court personnel shall be processed by the Office of the Court
Administrator, assisted by the Administrative Division, in accordance
with
the guidelines of the Court En Banc dated April 9, 1987. A list
of proposed appointees shall be submitted to the Court En Banc
and
their Commissions shall be signed by the Court Administrator or the
Deputy
Court Administrators upon approval of their appointments by the Court En
Banc. Any protest against these appointments shall be resolved by
the
Court En Banc.
B. Public
Assistance
and Information
The Office of
the Court
Administrator shall attend to all matters of public assistance and
information,
requests for expeditious action on pending cases in the lower courts,
indorsements
from other government agencies and other matters which do not involve
administrative
or judicial adjudications, including queries on status of cases in the
lower courts and on such other matters relative to pertinent circulars,
memoranda, or administrative orders of the Supreme Court.
C. Other
Administrative
Matters
[1]
Requests of
judges and court personnel for advice on routine administrative matters
where the Court has laid down guiding policies;
[2]
Administrative
problems of lower courts regarding assignment, detail and transfer of
court
personnel;
[3]
Applications
for leave of absence of judges and court personnel in accordance with
policies
laid down by the Court;
[4]
Applications
for compulsory retirement of judges and court personnel;
[5]
Confirmation
or approval of designations of court personnel as Officers-in-Charge of
the offices of the Clerk of Court and Branch Clerk of Court;
[6]
Financial matters
such as (a) claims for counsel de oficio fees; (b) travel
expense
vouchers of judges and employees of the lower courts; (c) payrolls of
judges
and personnel of the lower courts; and (d) budgetary proposals;
[7]
Amendments, modifications
or revocation of designation extended by Executive Judges to Acting
Municipal
Trial Court Judges in the exercise of their power under Administrative
Order No. 6, Series of 1975;
[8]
Designation of
non-court employees possessing special skills or qualifications such as
interpreters for deaf and dumb or witnesses who speak only foreign
languages;
[9]
Withholding,
suspension and release of salaries of judges, clerks of court or branch
clerks of court or personnel in charge who fail to submit their
respective
monthly reports;
[10]
Periodic investigation
and audit of the conditions of lower courts and their dockets;
[11]
Request of judges
and court personnel for permission to travel abroad;
[12]
Request of judges
and court personnel for authority to travel outside of their stations
(within
the country) or to attend local seminars on official time, and to issue
the corresponding certificates of appearance;
[13]
Preparation
of drafts of administrative/office orders and circulars pursuant to
resolutions
of the Court and/or upon the instruction of the Chief Justice;
[14]
Circulation
of pertinent decrees, letters of instructions, proclamations or
circulars
of the Office of the President and/or of the Court or of the Chief
Justice;
[15]
Authority or
permit to teach, engage in business, practice a profession, etc.,
subject
to the guidelines that the Court may issue;
[16]
Providing technical
support and assistance in personnel training, seminars, dialogues and
other
development programs for judges and court personnel approved by the
Court;
[17]
Reported destruction
of records of cases, properties and equipment of all lower courts;
[18]
Payment of per
diems and transportation expenses of detailed judges and court
personnel
under the existing policies of the Court;
[19] Action
on other
matters that the Court or the Chief Justice may assign relative to the
administrative supervision of lower courts;
[20]
Supervision
of the personnel in the Office of the Court Administrator.
D. Liaison
with Executive
and Legislative Departments
The
Office of the
Court Administrator shall be responsible for all liaison and
coordination
activities with the Legislative and Executive departments as well as
with
local government officials and the military, subject to the following
guidelines:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
[1] The
independence
of the Judiciary shall in no way be compromised by any statement of
policies
from the Office of the Court Administrator;
[2] Where
action
by the Office of the Court Administrator is requested by the
Legislative
or Executive Department on matters not covered by existing policies,
guidelines,
or circulars of the Court, it shall be cleared with the Chief Justice,
including matters which pertain to internal court operators and those
deemed
to be confidential; and cralaw:red
[3] The
Office of
the Court Administrator shall not act on any matter involving financial
transactions or expenditures, although it may submit its recommendation
to the Chief Justice."
September 30,
1991.
[Sgd.]
JOSUE
N. BELLOSILLOCourt
Administrator
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