Short answer. Generally the judge must receive evidence personally, but Section 9 allows delegation to the clerk of court, if a member of the bar, for default or ex parte hearings, or whenever the parties agree in writing. Even then, the clerk cannot rule on objections — the judge resolves those later from the clerk's report and the transcripts.
What the law says
The judge of the court where the case is pending shall personally receive the evidence to be adduced by the parties. However, in default or ex parte hearings, and in any case where the parties agree in writing, the court may delegate the reception of evidence to its clerk of court who is a member of the bar.
Rule 30, Section 9 — Judge to receive evidence; delegation to clerk of court. Read the full provision →
The default rule: the judge receives evidence personally
Section 9 opens with a firm general rule: the judge of the court where the case is pending must personally receive the evidence adduced by the parties, not delegate that core function as a matter of course. This ensures the judge personally observes witness demeanor, rules on the sufficiency of testimony as it comes in, and forms firsthand impressions that shape how the evidence is later weighed — safeguards that are largely lost once evidence-taking is handed to someone else.
The two narrow exceptions
Delegation to the clerk of court is allowed only in default or ex parte hearings, or in any case where the parties agree in writing — situations where the adversarial stakes of live evidence-taking are lower, or the parties have themselves consented. Default hearings involve a party who has already failed to answer or appear, and ex parte hearings by definition exclude the opposing side, so the contested, adversarial testing that personal judicial reception is meant to safeguard is largely absent from these two settings to begin with.
The bar-membership requirement
The clerk of court delegated this task must be a member of the bar, ensuring legal training is present even though the judge is not personally presiding over that particular reception of evidence. Because the clerk exercises a quasi-judicial function in receiving testimony and evidence, requiring bar membership guards against a purely clerical staff member making calls that affect what goes into the record, even though final rulings on admissibility remain reserved for the judge.
What the clerk still cannot do
The clerk has no power to rule on objections to any question or to admission of exhibits; those objections are resolved by the court itself, based on the clerk's report and the transcripts, within ten calendar days from the hearing's termination. This division of labor lets the clerk handle the mechanical work of marking exhibits and taking down testimony while preserving the judge's exclusive authority over what evidence ultimately gets admitted, keeping the final evidentiary rulings squarely a judicial function rather than a clerical one.