Territorial Jurisdiction; Venue of Action.
Section 13
SEC. 13. Territorial Jurisdiction; Venue of Action.—All actions except criminal cases falling within the jurisdiction of the Courts of Agrarian Relations shall be commenced by a written complaint filed with the office of the clerk of court of the Branch within whose territorial jurisdiction the land directly involved is situated. Every Branch shall have territorial jurisdiction over all cases directly involving lands within the entire Regional District where its official station is located. Where a party questions the territorial jurisdiction of a Branch, said Branch shall forthwith determine whether the land directly involved in the proceeding is within its territorial jurisdiction. Upon finding the contrary, the said Branch shall promptly forward the case to the Branch within whose territorial jurisdiction the land subject matter of the case is located. Where the land directly involved straddles two or more Regional Districts, the Branch in any of the said Districts where the case is first instituted, shall have exclusive territorial jurisdiction. If there be any conflict of territorial jurisdiction between Courts of two or more Regional Districts, the Supreme Court shall resolve such conflict administratively. Where the land involved is located within a Regional District, but the case is filed in a Branch in another Regional District, and none of the parties objects, that Branch shall proceed to hear the case and decide it on the merits. Where any of the parties objects, but the Branch is of the opinion that it has territorial jurisdiction, it shall likewise proceed to hear the case and decide it on the merits. If on appeal the appellate court finds that the Branch had no territorial jurisdiction over the case, it shall nevertheless decide the appeal on the merits. Where the question of territorial jurisdiction is not raised in the Courts of Agrarian Relations, all parties are estopped from raising the issue on appeal or in any other proceeding. Any problem of territorial jurisdiction not covered by the foregoing provisions shall be governed by rules to be promulgated by the Supreme Court. In the cases covered by paragraph (f), (i) and (j) of the preceding section, where one of the parties involved is a tenant-farmer, agricultural lessee, settler, owner-cultivator or amortizing owner-cultivator, the action shall be commenced and tried in the Regional District where the farmholding of such party is located. Where the action is between parties other than those enumerated, the action shall be commenced and tried in the regional District where the main office of the Samahang Nayon, compact farm, farmers' cooperative or registered farmers' association or organization is located. Where the action is between a corporation or partnership covered by General Order No. 47, and any other corporation, partnership, association or single proprietorship, the action shall be commenced and tried in the Regional District where the main office of any of the parties is located. SEC. 14. Powers of Courts of Agrarian Relations.—Every Court of Agrarian Relations shall have all the powers and prerogative inherent in or belonging to the Court of First Instance, including the following: To punish for direct and indirect contempt; To preserve and enforce order in its immediate presence; To enforce order in proceedings before it, or before a person or persons empowered to conduct a judicial investigation under its authority; To compel obedience to its judgments, orders and processes, and to the lawful orders of a Judge out of court, in a case pending therein; To control, in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its ministerial officers, and of all other persons in any manner connected with a case before it, in every manner appertaining thereto; To compel the attendance of persons to testify in a case pending therein; To administer or cause to be administered oaths in a case pending therein, and in all other cases where it may be necessary in the exercise of its powers; To amend and control its processes and orders so as to make them conformable to law and justice; To authorize a copy of a lost or destroyed pleading or other paper to be filed and used instead of the original, and to restore, and supply deficiencies in its records and proceedings: To require the assistance of all agencies and offices of the Government in the performance of its duties without additional compensation: and To allow duly authorized leaders of duly registered farmers' organizations to appear as counsel for their respective members and/or organizations, subject to the basic duties and obligations of officers of the court. Upon appeal, however, the parties shall be represented by members of the Bar only. Courts of Agrarian Relations may employ all auxiliary writs, processes and other means necessary to carry their jurisdiction into effect. All writs and processes issued by the Courts of. Agrarian Relations shall be served and executed free of charge by provincial or city sheriffs, or by any person authorized by the said Courts, in the same manner as writs and processes of Courts of First Instance. SEC. 15. Disqualification of Judges.—No Judge of the Courts of Agrarian Relations shall sit in any case in which he, or his wife or child, is pecuniarily interested as heir, legatee, creditor or otherwise, or in which he is related to either party within the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity, or to counsel within the fourth degree, computed according to the rules of the civil law, or in which he has been executor, administrator, guardian, trustee or counsel. without the written consent of all parties in interest, signed by them and entered upon the record.