1. Judicial Committee Chairperson. The Judicial Clerk is the Chairperson for every meeting of the Judicial Committee during their elected term, unless absent from EKS when the ‘JC sub’ substitutes and is responsible for running the daily Judicial Committee Meeting or where there is a conflict of interest. Where multiple members are elected to the role, the Clerks must agree between them who will chair each meeting. The responsibility to ensure the JC meets and runs smoothly is always held between them.
2. Substituting Members. The Judicial Committee Chairperson must substitute Voting Members in cases of conflict of interest, absence or when younger members can no longer serve effectively.
3. Report to Law Clerk. The Judicial Committee Chairperson must ensure all cases are inputted into the system correctly and that the records are complete.
4. JC Members. Judicial Committee meetings consist of three voting members; a Chairperson, a Staff, and a student.
1. The Judicial Clerk is the Chairperson. See JS-3-1 Judicial Committee Chairperson.
2. The voting members, and designated substitute, must be selected and notified by the Judicial Clerk. See JS-1-10 JC selection.
3. Each voting member must be available for all Judicial Committee meetings during their term unless absent or excused. See JS-1-10 JC selection.
5. Conflicts of interest and substitutions. Community Meeting Members cannot serve on the Judicial Committee for a concern which they or any family members are involved in.
6. Selecting a JC Secretary. The Judicial Committee Chairperson must select a member of the committee to act as JC Secretary for each JC Meeting.
7. Handling Concerns. All concerns must be filed in the locked boxed in the democratic hub which can only be accessed by the JC clerk. The Judicial Committee is responsible for receiving and handling concerns by following the JC Process. See Judicial Committee Process. The JC Secretary must complete the case file on the online system fully.
8. JC Meeting. The Judicial Committees meet every day at 1.00pm in the Democratic Hub. When there are more than 12 cases left to be heard the JC clerk will convene another JC meeting which will take place at 11am to get rid of the backlog.
9. JC Meeting duration. Judicial Committee Meetings are adjourned when all concerns have been heard, or when the time limit of one hour has been reached, or at the discretion of the Chairperson.
10. Laws Broken. The Judicial Committee must agree which, if any, laws the members involved have broken. The decision whether laws have been broken must be based solely on the information given in the discussion and entered into the summary.
1. Ensure the Member fully understands the laws they have broken, their reason for being and why their actions broke the laws.
2. Ask the Member if they agree to take responsibility for breaking the law: Yes or No.
1. If the Member agrees “Yes,” the Judicial Committee proceeds to agree an outcome.
2. If the Member disagrees, “No,” the case is referred to Community Meeting and Special Meeting is called.
11. Outcomes. The Judicial Committee is responsible for finding an outcome for each case via majority vote. The outcome must take into consideration the outcome suggestions from all those involved. The purpose of the outcome is to restore the peace in the community.
1. Outcomes should take into consideration the nature of the case and record of previous incidents.
2. The Judicial Committee cannot impose an exclusion.
3. Where a member is found to have caused significant harm to the community such as physical harm, endangering personal safety, damage to property, the JC can vote to refer the case to Community Meeting to agree an outcome.
4. Unless otherwise specified, outcomes apply as soon as they have been agreed.
5. If no agreement can be reached the Judicial Committee must refer the case to Community Meeting for an outcome to be decided.
6. Outcomes must be given a reasonable timeframe to complete them within.
12. Referrals. JC Referrals will be referred to a special community meeting which is mandatory for all and which will usually take place the day after the referral has been made.
13. JC Disturbances. No one may disturb the Judicial Committee meetings. In the event of a disturbance the Chairperson will follow this procedure:
1. Issue a warning to the disturbing member.
2. On second disturbance, dismiss the member from the JC meeting.
1. Where the member dismissed is the reporter of the concern, the case will be dropped.
2. Where the member dismissed is involved in the case, the outcome will be agreed without their presence.
3. Where the member dismissed is sitting on the JC panel the member will be issued with 30 minutes’ community service.
3. If the member returns and disturbs the JC meeting a third time, the member will be referred to CM with a recommendation of a suspension.