The Internal Rules of the Supreme Court

August 3, 2010

EN BANC

A.M. No. 10-4-20-SC

THE INTERNAL RULES OF THE SUPREME COURT

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Section 3, paragraph c, Rule 1 of The Internal Rules of the Supreme Court (Rules) directs the Sub-Committee on the Internal Rules of the Supreme Court (Sub-Committee) to recommend to the Court en banc the amendment, revision, or deletion of any of these Rules to reflect and achieve the objectives of justice, fairness and efficiency; SDHITE

WHEREAS, the Sub-Committee recommends the amendment of the Rules to read as follows:

1. Rule 2, Section 3 (d)

SEC. 3. Court en banc matters and cases. — The Court en banc shall act on the following matters and cases:

xxx xxx xxx

(d) cases involving decisions, resolutions, and orders of the Commission on Elections, and the Commission on Audit;

2. Rule 2, Section 6

SEC. 6. Resolutions of motions for reconsideration or clarification of an unsigned resolution or a minute resolution and all other motions and incidents subsequently filed. — Motions for reconsideration or clarification of an unsigned resolution or a minute resolution and all other motions and incidents subsequently filed in the case shall be acted upon by the regular Division to which the ponente belongs. The ponente is the Member to whom the Court, after its deliberation on the merits of a case, assigns the writing of its decision or resolution in the case.

3. Rule 2, Section 7

SEC. 7. Resolutions of motions for reconsideration or clarification of decisions or signed resolutions and all other motions and incidents subsequently filed; creation of a Special Division. — Motions for reconsideration or clarification of a decision or of a signed resolution and all other motions and incidents subsequently filed in the case shall be acted upon by the ponente and the other Members of the Division who participated in the rendition of the decision or signed resolution.

If the ponente has retired, is no longer a Member of the Court, is disqualified, or has inhibited himself or herself from acting on the motion for reconsideration or clarification, he or she shall be replaced through raffle by a new ponente who shall be chosen among the new Members of the Division who participated in the rendition of the decision or signed resolution and who concurred therein. If only one Member of the Court who participated and concurred in the rendition of the decision or signed resolution remains, he or she shall be designated as the new ponente.

If a Member (not the ponente) of the Division which rendered the decision or signed resolution has retired, is no longer a Member of the Court, is disqualified, or has inhibited himself or herself from acting on the motion for reconsideration or clarification, he or she shall be replaced through raffle by a replacement Member who shall be chosen from the other Divisions until a new Justice is appointed as replacement for the retired Justice. Upon the appointment of a new Justice, he or she shall replace the designated Justice as replacement Member of the Special Division. TaDSCA

Any vacancy or vacancies in the Special Division shall be filled by raffle from among the other Members of the Court to constitute a Special Division of five (5) Members.

If the ponente and all the Members of the Division that rendered the Decision or signed Resolution are no longer Members of the Court, the case shall be raffled to any Member of the Court and the motion shall be acted upon by him or her with the participation of the other Members of the Division to which he or she belongs.

If there are pleadings, motions or incidents subsequent to the denial of the motion for reconsideration or clarification, the case shall be acted upon by the ponente on record with the participation of the other Members of the Division to which he or she belongs at the time said pleading, motion or incident is to be taken up by the Court.

4. Rule 2, Section 10

SEC. 10. Formula for assigning cases to a new Member of the Court. —

The following rules shall be observed in assigning cases to a newly appointed Member of the Court:

(a) the average caseload of each Member shall be determined by dividing the total number of pending cases of all fifteen Members by fifteen;

(b) the newly appointed Member of the Court shall inherit the caseload of the Member being replaced, and the inherited caseload, if less than the average caseload as determined in (a), shall be equalized with the average caseload by taking the difference from the caseload of the incumbent Members divided among them in equal number;

(c) cases submitted for decision within the last twelve months preceding the appointment of the new Member of the Court may be unloaded to him or her.

The case load shall take into account only cases and matters for adjudication.

5. Rule 2, Section 15

SEC. 15. Form of resolution on motion for reconsideration in cases where the vote of Members of the Court is divided. — The resolution of motions for reconsideration of decisions or signed resolutions, in case the opinion of the Court en banc or Division is divided, may be by minute resolution specifying the respective votes of the Members. aIHSEc

6. Rule 4, Section 2

SEC. 2. Assisting offices in the exercise of administrative function. — In the discharge of its administrative functions, the Court shall be assisted by the Office of the Clerk of Court in administrative matters and cases involving the Court and the collegial appellate courts. Whenever necessary, the court shall also be assisted by the Office of the Court Administrator in said matters and in administrative matters and cases involving the lower courts.

7. Rule 4, Section 3

SEC. 3. Administrative functions of the Court. — The administrative functions of the Court, whether en banc or in division consist of, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) disciplinary and administrative matters involving justices, judges and court personnel;

(b) the temporary assignment of judges to other stations as public interest may require;

(c) the designation of judges from another administrative jurisdiction in the absence of judges that can be designated to hear and decide inhibited cases;

(d) the request of judges for extension of time within which to decide cases submitted for decision;

(e) the transfer of cases, from one court, administrative area or judicial region, to another, or the transfer of venue of the trial of cases to avoid miscarriage of justice;

(f) the amendment, modification or revocation of administrative orders and circulars issued by the Court;

(g) the policy consideration and determination of matters and issues;

(h) matters involving the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) or the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) in the exercise of the Court's supervisory authority over them; and

(i) other matters similar or analogous to the foregoing.

8. Rule 6, Section 11

SEC. 11. Transmittal of rollo from the Receiving Section to the Office of the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court. — The Judicial Records Office shall transmit all rollos to the Office of the Clerk of Court or Division Clerk of Court within three working days from receipt of pleadings, documents or papers attached to them, unless immediate transmittal is demanded by the nature of the case. Copies of pleadings, documents, or papers not attached to the rollo shall be distributed by said Offices to all Members of the Court en banc or of the Division. DHESca

9. Rule 7, Section 6 (f)

SEC. 6. Special raffle of cases. — Should an initiatory pleading pray for the issuance of a temporary restraining order or an urgent and extraordinary writ such as the writ of habeas corpus or of amparo, and the case cannot be included in the regular raffle, the Clerk of Court shall immediately call the attention of the Chief Justice or, in the latter's absence, the most senior Member of the Court present. The Chief Justice or the Senior Member of the Court may direct the conduct of a special raffle, in accordance with the following procedure:

xxx xxx xxx

(f) Upon receipt of the rollo, the Clerk of Court — or, should the case be classified as a Division case, the Division Clerk of Court — shall immediately (i) prepare the Agenda item on the specially raffled case; and (ii) forward the rollo and a copy of the Supplemental Agenda to the Rollo Room, which shall transmit the rollo to the Member-in-Charge and distribute the Supplemental Agenda to the Chief Justice and the Members of the Court or to the Chairperson and Members of the Division, as the case may be.

10. Rule 8, Section 2

SEC. 2. Motion to inhibit a Division or a Member of the Court. — A motion for inhibition must be in writing and under oath and shall state the grounds therefor.

No motion for inhibition of a Division or a Member of the Court shall be granted after a decision on the merits or substance of the case has been rendered or issued by any Division, except for a valid or just reason such as an allegation of a graft and corrupt practice or a ground not earlier apparent.

11. Rule 8, Section 3 (a)

SEC. 3. Effects of inhibition. — The consequences of an inhibition of a Member of the Court shall be governed by these rules:

(a) Whenever a Member-in-Charge of a case in a Division inhibits himself for a just and valid reason, the case shall be returned to the Raffle Committee for re-raffling among the Members of the other two (2) Divisions of the Court.

12. Rule 9, Section 2

SEC. 2. Repository of rollos. — All rollos of cases submitted for decision shall be kept in the Rollo Room in the Office of the Chief Justice, except when taken out for delivery to any of the following: (1) the Judicial Records Office for attachment of a pleading, communication, document or other papers filed; (2) the Office of the Clerk of Court or the Office of the Division Clerk of Court, for the preparation of the Agenda and of the Minutes of a Court session, as well for the attachment of the decisions or resolutions to the rollo; (3) the Office of the Member-in-Charge or the Office of the ponente or writer of the decision or resolution; (4) any Office or official charged with the study of the case. aATCDI 

All personnel charged with the safekeeping and distribution of rollos shall be bound by strict confidentiality on the identity of the Member-in-Charge or the ponente, as well as on the integrity of the rollos, under pain of administrative sanction and criminal prosecution for any breach thereof.

13. Rule 10, Section 4

SEC. 4. Transcripts of hearings, recording of oral arguments. — Oral arguments shall be recorded by at least two stenographers, alternately taking stenographic notes of the proceedings. The stenographers shall transcribe their notes and submit the consolidated transcripts to the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court immediately upon the termination of the oral arguments. The Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court shall review the transcripts of stenographic notes, using the tape or electronic recording of the hearing for verification purposes.

14. Rule 11, Section 2

SEC. 2. Periods for inclusion of pleadings, motions, and other matters in the agenda. — As much as practicable, the Clerk of Court and the Division Clerks of Court shall observe the following periods for the inclusion of pleadings, motions, and other matters in the agenda counted from receipt:

(a) motions for extension of time to file petitions — immediately calendared;

(b) appeals in criminal cases under article 47 of the revised penal code, as amended, or under rule 122 of the rules of court — within fifteen days;

(c) petitions under rules 45, 64 and 65 — within ten days, unless a party asks for the issuance of a temporary restraining order or an extraordinary writ, and the Chief Justice authorizes the holding of a special raffle and the immediate inclusion of the case in the agenda;

(d) motion for inhibition — within ten days, unless the petition prays for a temporary restraining order, in which case the motion must be immediately included in the agenda; and

(e) other pleadings — within ten days.

The foregoing notwithstanding, the Chief Justice may direct the immediate inclusion of any matter in the agenda.

15. Rule 11, Section 4

SEC. 4. Preparation of minutes of proceedings. — Within three (3) working days from the time the copy of the Agenda containing the handwritten actions of the Court is transmitted to him or her, the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court shall submit the draft of the minutes of the session for the approval by the Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson. The draft of the minutes of a Court session shall follow the chronological sequence of the cases in the Agenda. Excerpts of the minutes pertaining to a particular case quoted in a letter of the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court to the parties, and extended resolutions showing the actions of the Court on the cases on agenda shall be released to the parties only after the Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson has approved the minutes in writing. cCaATD

Urgent matters in the minutes described in Section 8 shall, however, be immediately acted upon in coordination with the Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson.

16. Rule 11, Section 5

SEC. 5. Confidentiality of minutes prior to release. — The Offices of the Clerk of Court and of the Division Clerks of Court are bound by strict confidentiality on the action or actions taken by the Court prior to the approval of the draft of the minutes of the court session release of the resolutions embodying the Court action or actions.

A resolution is considered officially released once the envelope containing a final copy of it addressed to the parties has been transmitted to the process server for personal service or to the mailing section of the Judicial Records Office. Only after its official release may a resolution be made available to the public.

17. Rule 11, Section 6

SEC. 6. Preparation of minute resolutions and unsigned extended resolutions. — Upon receipt of the approved minutes of the court session, the pertinent notice of the minute resolutions quoting an excerpt of the minutes of Court sessions pertinent to a case shall be prepared by the court attorneys in the Office of the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court and personally reviewed, approved, and initialled by the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court.

An unsigned extended resolution may, however, be prepared by the Office of the Member-in-Charge or by the Office of the Clerk of Court or Division Clerk of Court, upon instructions of either the Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson, who shall approve the same. The Chief Justice and the Division Chairperson shall order the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court to release duly approved minute and unsigned extended resolutions.

18. Rule 11, Section 7

SEC. 7. Form of notice of a minute resolution. — A notice of a minute resolution shall be embodied in a letter of the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court notifying the parties of the action or actions taken in their case. In the absence of or whenever so deputized by the Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court, the Assistant Clerk of Court of Assistant Division Clerk of Court may likewise sign the letter which shall be in the following form:

(SUPREME COURT Seal)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

EN BANC/_______ DIVISION

NOTICE

Sirs/Mesdames:

Please take notice that the Court en banc/______ Division issued a Resolution dated __________, which reads as follows:

"G.R./UDK/A.M./A.C. NO. __________ (TITLE). — (QUOTE RESOLUTION")

Very truly yours,

(Sgd.)

CLERK OF COURT/Division Clerk of Court

19. Rule 11, Section 8

SEC. 8. Release of resolutions. — All resolutions shall be promptly released after the approval of the Minutes of any session by the Chief Justice or the Division Chairperson. Resolutions with the following actions shall, however, be released immediately to the parties:

(a) directing the issuance of extraordinary writs; IcSEAH

(b) granting or denying motions for extension of time to file petitions or subsequent pleadings, lifting of warrant of arrest, or other motions of urgent nature;

(c) granting applications for a temporary restraining order/status quo order/writ of preliminary injunction;

(d) preventively suspending judges or court personnel; and

(e) directing any party, the Office of the Court Administrator, or any other official or agency to submit a comment, a report or a recommendation within a non-extendible period.

20. Rule 13, Section 6 (d)

SEC. 6. Manner of adjudication. — The Court shall adjudicate cases as follows:

xxx xxx xxx

(d) By minute resolution when the Court (1) dismisses a petition filed under Rule 64 or 65 of the Rules of Court, citing as legal basis the failure of the petition to show that the tribunal, board or officer exercising judicial or quasi-judicial functions has acted without or in excess of jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction; (2) denies a petition filed under Rule 45 of the said Rules, citing as legal basis the absence of reversible error committed in the challenged decision, resolution, or order of the court below; (3) dismisses an administrative complaint, citing as legal basis failure to show a prima facie case against the respondent; (4) denies a motion for reconsideration, citing as legal basis the absence of a compelling or cogent reason to grant the motion, or the failure to raise any substantial argument to support such motion or the decision of the Court has already passed upon the basic issues in the case; and (5) dismisses or denies a petition on technical grounds or deficiencies.

21. Rule 13, Section 10

SEC. 10. Release of decisions and resolutions. — The Clerk of Court or the Division Clerk of Court shall immediately release every decision or resolution from receipt of the same from the Office of the Chief Justice, indicating the date and hour of promulgation and affixing his or her signature underneath such date and hour. In the absence of the Clerk of Court or the Assistant Clerk of Court, the Division Clerks of Court or their assistants shall release the decisions of the Court en banc.

22. Rule 14, Section 1

SECTION 1. Promulgation. — The date of promulgation shall be the date the decision or resolution is approved and adopted.

23. Rule 15, Section 1 (b)

SECTION 1. Finality of decisions and resolutions. — A decision or resolution of the Court may be deemed final after the lapse of fifteen days from receipt by the parties of a copy of the same subject to the following:

xxx xxx xxx

(b) if the Judgment Division is unable to retrieve the registry return card within thirty (30) days from mailing, it shall immediately inquire from the receiving post office on (i) the date when the addressee received the mailed decision or resolution; and (ii) who received the same, with the information provided by authorized personnel of the said post office serving as the basis for the computation of the fifteen-day period. caHIAS

24. Rule 16, Section 2

SEC. 2. How entry of judgment is made. — The entry of judgment shall be in the form of a certification indicating the date when the final decision or resolution of the Court has become executory and entered in the Book of Judgments. The entry shall restate the dispositive portion of the judgment or final resolution, and be duly signed by the Chief or the Assistant Chief of the Judicial Records Office and a photocopy thereof with the appropriate Supreme Court Seal shall be furnished the parties.

25. Rule 16, Section 3

SEC. 3. Time frame for entry of judgment. — Unless the Court requires an immediate entry of judgment or the judgment is one of acquittal, the Judicial Records Office shall enter judgment after fifteen (15) days for Luzon, twenty (20) days for Visayas and thirty (30) days for Mindanao from the expiration of the fifteen-day reglementary period for filing a motion for reconsideration.

NOW THEREFORE, acting on the recommendation of the Sub-Committee on the Internal Rules of the Supreme Court submitting for this Court's consideration and approval the proposed amendments to The Internal Rules of the Supreme Court, the Court Resolved to APPROVE the same.

 

(SGD.) RENATO C. CORONAChief Justice

(SGD.) ANTONIO T. CARPIOAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) CONCHITA CARPIO-MORALESAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

on official leavePRESBITERO J. VELASCO, JR.Associate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) ANTONIO EDUARDO B. NACHURAAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) TERESITA J. LEONARDO-DE CASTROAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

on official leaveARTURO D. BRIONAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) DIOSDADO M. PERALTAAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) LUCAS P. BERSAMINAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) MARIANO C. DEL CASTILLOAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) ROBERTO A. ABADAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) MARTIN S. VILLARAMA, JR.Associate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) JOSE PORTUGAL PEREZAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines

(SGD.) JOSE CATRAL MENDOZAAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines