In accordance with the amended Samahan ng Mga Mag-Aaral ng Pamantasang Ateneo de Davao (SAMAHAN) Constitution, the SAMAHAN Student Court (SSC) unanimously ruled the constitution’s disapproval of the Chief Justice’s dual roles as presiding officer and voting representative in the school’s judicial body.  

Stemming from the Social Sciences cluster representative’s vacancy of position and the cluster origins of Incumbent Chief Justice Ivan Tizon, the court’s decision resolved persisting questions about the constitutional roles of the SAMAHAN Chief Justice and Cluster Associate Justices.

The Court’s First Special Division ruled that the provisions of Article VI, Section 2, of the 2023 SAMAHAN Constitution were intended to delegate separate constitutional functions to the Chief and Associate Justices to ensure proportional representation among the existing university clusters.

“The structure of the Court contemplates equal cluster representation through Associate Justices and a presiding constitutional officer in the person of the Chief Justice. It does not contemplate fusion of the two,” the decision read. 

In addition, the Student Court clarified that an Associate Justice, upon being elevated to Chief Justiceship, is considered to have vacated the cluster representative position and to have abruptly assumed the roles and responsibilities of a Chief Justice. 

“The vacancy in the Social Sciences Associate Justice position does not operate to expand the powers of the Chief Justice. Constitutional silence cannot be converted into implied authority,” the verdict stated. 

Following the court ruling on March 5, 2026, the position of the Social Sciences Cluster Associate Justice has been declared vacant, blocking Chief Justice Tizon from serving as the concurrent voting representative. 

A resolution issued on March 11 has named two passers of the 2026 Constitutional Examination to fill the respective positions of Social Sciences and School of Engineering and Architecture Associate Justice.