Rules of procedure for the Appeals Selection Committee

§ 1 The Chief Justice appoints justices to the Supreme Court’s Appeals Selection Committee on the recommendation of the Secretary-General.

§ 2 Appointment to the Committee is for a period of four to six weeks. This period may be varied during court recesses or where special circumstances so warrant.

§ 3 Five justices are normally appointed to the Committee. Where the workload or considerations relating to the efficient organisation of the Court work so require, the Chief Justice may decide that more than five justices shall be appointed. The Chief Justice may also appoint a separate Committee to consider a particularly extensive case, or several cases that ought to be considered together. During court recesses, three justices are normally appointed.

The Chief Justice presides over the Committee when serving as one of its members. Otherwise, the most senior justice presides.

§ 4 In appointing justices to the Committee, consideration is given to ensuring that, over time, the justices serve on the Committee approximately equally often and that its composition varies.

§ 5 Cases are allocated in such a manner that the assignment of cases among the Committee’s justices, including the designation of the justice to whom a case is first assigned, is random. The presiding justice may make exceptions where the Committee is considering particularly labour-intensive cases or where other weighty reasons so warrant. 

If there is not a sufficient number of non-disqualified justices on the Committee to consider a case, the Secretary-General, in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Chief Justice, appoints the necessary number of justices for that particular case.

§ 6 Where a case requires urgent determination and the Committee is not in session, the Chief Justice, or the most senior available justice, appoints a Committee to consider the case.