The Men's Executive Committee was first active in the 1940-1941 academic year. According to the Catalogue of Swarthmore College, the men students of the College are represented by the Men's Executive Committee, a group elected to take responsibility for specified problems which have to do primarily with dormitory life. During the 1951-1952 academic year, a Men's Judiciary Committee, selected by the Men's Executive Committee was established to have jurisdiction over cases in which male undergraduates violated college rules in the dormitories or campus, with the exception of in the fraternity lodges. The fraternities had their own Fraternity Judiciary Committee to enforce college rules as pertained to the fraternities and their lodges.

All women students were members of Women's Student Government which was established the same time as the Men's Executive Committee and mandated to oversee a number of committee including Conduct. Beginning with the 1958-59 academic year, a Women's Judiciary Committee with parallel responsibilities to the Men's Judiciary Committee was established as a branch of Women's Student Government.

Other judicial bodies established at the same time were the Student Judiciary Committee which was composed of members selected from the Men's and Women's Committee and dealt with cases involving the car regulations and other infractions that involved both men and women. In addition, there was also a College Judicial Committee composed of the deans, faculty and student members which dealt with problems that led to suspension or expulsion as well as appeals from the other two Committees.

The student judiciary bodies were consolidated after 1970 into a single Student Judiciary Committee elected by the entire student community. More recently, minor infractions are dealt with by the deans of the College while more serious charges are adjudicated by the College Judicial Committee.