DOES THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION HAVE DISCIPLINARY JURISDICTION OVER COURT PERSONNEL?
Does Civil Service Commission (CSC) have disciplinary jurisdiction to try and decide administrative cases against court personnel?
In Civil Service Commission vs. Andal, G.R. No. 185749, December 16, 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 6, Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution vests in the Supreme Court administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel thereof, thus:
Sec. 6. The Supreme Court shall have administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel thereof.
By virtue of this power, it is only the Supreme Court that can oversee the judges’ and court personnel’s administrative compliance with all laws, rules and regulations. No other branch of government may intrude into this power, without running afoul of the doctrine of separation of powers.
The High Court also emphasized that in case of violation of the Civil Service Law by a court personnel, the standard procedure is for the CSC to bring its complaint against a judicial employee before the Office of the Court Administrator of the Supreme Court.