Ark. Code Ann. § 16-11-301 (2026)
Rules of pleading, practice, and procedure — Supersession
All statutes concerning pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts shall be deemed superseded by rules adopted by the Supreme Court pursuant to Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80, § 3, or pursuant to the Supreme Court's constitutional, inherent, or statutory authority prior to the effective date of Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80.
History. Acts 1971, No. 470, §§ 1-3; 1979, No. 333, § 1; 1981, No. 312, § 2; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 22-242 — 22-244; Acts 2003, No. 1185, § 68.
Research References
Ark. L. Rev.
Note, To Truly Reform We Must Be Informed: Davis v. Parham, the Separation of Powers Doctrine, and the Constitutionality of Tort Reform in Arkansas, 59 Ark. L. Rev. 781.
U. Ark. Little Rock L.J.
Constitutional Law — Child Hearsay Exception in Sexual Abuse Cases — New Arkansas Supreme Court Rule Conflicts with New General Assembly Rule: Which Controls? Vann v. State, 309 Ark. 303, 831 S.W.2d 126 (1992), 15 U. Ark. Little Rock L.J. 143.
U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev.
Sevawn Foster, Note: Constitutional Law — Arkansas’s Current Procedural Rulemaking Conundrum: Attempting to Quell the Political Discord, 37 U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev. 105 (2014).
Case Notes
Constitutionality.
The legislature's delegation of power to prescribe rules of criminal procedure is not unconstitutional nor outside the enabling act, provided the rule in question is truly procedural. Miller v. State, 262 Ark. 223, 555 S.W.2d 563 (1977).
This section is not an unlawful delegation of legislative authority; it merely recognizes and is harmonious with the court's inherent powers rather than conferring an express power. Jennings v. State, 276 Ark. 217, 633 S.W.2d 373, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 862, 103 S. Ct. 137, 74 L. Ed. 2d 117 (1982).
Amendment of Rules.
Since the Supreme Court has the inherent power to make the Rules of Criminal Procedure, it follows that it has the inherent power to amend those rules. Jennings v. State, 276 Ark. 217, 633 S.W.2d 373, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 862, 103 S. Ct. 137, 74 L. Ed. 2d 117 (1982).
Application.
Petition to revive a foreign judgment was properly granted because it was authenticated under Ark. R. Civ. P. 44 where it was signed by a clerk for a United States Bankruptcy Court; the Arkansas Supreme Court's rule-making authority over procedural matters was exclusive. It was argued that the proper authentication process was not followed when a certified copy of the judgment was attached to an application. Bird v. Shaffer, 2012 Ark. App. 464 (2012).
Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, § 16-66-601 et seq., was enacted before Ark. Const. Amend. 80 and this section, and Ark. R. Civ. P. 44 therefore supersedes it with respect to how foreign judgments must be filed with an Arkansas court. Agility Fin. Credit Union v. Largent, 2018 Ark. App. 358, 552 S.W.3d 471 (2018).
Cited: Gardner v. State, 252 Ark. 828, 481 S.W.2d 342 (1972); Adams v. State, 269 Ark. 548, 601 S.W.2d 881 (1980); Clines v. State, 282 Ark. 541, 669 S.W.2d 883 (1984).