TITLE II
The Functioning of the Commission

Chapter 1
General Rules

Rule 14
The seat of the Commission

1. 1. The seat of the Commission shall be the seat of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.
    
2. The Commission may decide to hold sessions elsewhere if it thinks fitin another location if it deems it justified.
    
3. The Commission may decide, at any stage of the examination of an application, that it is necessary that an investigation or any other of its functions be carried out elsewhere by it or one or more of its members.

Rule 15
Sessions of the Commission

1. The Commission shall determine the number and dates of its sessions.
    
2. The Commission shall meet at other times by decision of the President as circumstances may require.
    
3. Members who are prevented by illness or other serious reason from attending all or part of any session of the Commission or from fulfilling any other duty shall, as soon as possible, give notice thereof to the Registrar who shall inform the President.

Rule 16
Confidentiality of deliberations

1. All deliberations of the members of the Commission and of all other persons attending the meetings of the Commission shall be and shall remain confidential. Only the Registrar, members of the Secretariat, interpreters, and persons providing technical or secretarial assistance to the Commission may be present at its meetings, unless the Commission decides otherwise.
    
2. At any stage in the examination of an application, the President of the Commission, the Vice-President, the Executive Officer (if any) and the Registrar may communicate information to the press to an extent compatible with the legitimate interests of the parties and subject to any directions by the Commission.

Rule 17
Voting

1. After any deliberations and before a formal vote is taken on any matter in the Commission, the President may request members to state their opinions thereon or conduct an indicative vote thereon.
    
2. If the formal voting is equal, a roll call vote shall be taken and the President shall have the casting vote. This applies only to voting in the Plenary Commission.
    
3. Members shall not abstain when voting on the conclusions of a decision.

Rule 18
Records of deliberations and hearings

1. The records of the sessions and hearings of the Commission shall include a summary of the subject of the discussions, the votes taken, the names of those voting for and against a motion and any statements expressly made for insertion therein.
    
2. The records of hearings shall contain the names of the members present and of any persons appearing; they shall give a brief account of the course of the hearing and of any decision taken.

Rule 19
Safeguards for the impartiality of the members

1. Members shall not take part in the examination of an application before the Commission, where when they:
   
   (a) have any personal interest in the case;
   
   (b) have participated in any decision on the facts on which the application is based as adviser to any of the parties or as a member of any tribunal or body of enquiry.
    
2. If, in any case of doubt with regard to paragraph 1 of this Rule, or in any other circumstances which that might appear to affect the impartiality of members in their examination of an application, they or the President consider that they should not take part, the Commission shall decide.

Rule 20
Withdrawal of members

When, for any special reason other than under Rule 19, members consider that they should not take part or continue to take part in the examination of a case, they shall inform the President.

Rule 21
Quorum after withdrawal of members

Any member who, under the provisions of Rule 19 or Rule 20, does not take part in the examination of an application, shall not form part of the quorum during such examination. Where When the case in question is pending before the Panel it shall be transferred to the plenary Commission.

Chapter 2
The Plenary Commission

Rule 22
Applications determined by the Plenary Commission

The Plenary Chamber Commission shall determine applications which that have not been referred to the Panel or whichthat have been transferred from the Panel to the Plenary Commission under Rule 26, paragraphs 2 and 3, as well as applications considered by the Panel, but in respect of which the Panel did not reach a unanimous decision, as provided in Article 8 of the 2003 Agreement and Rule 51, paragraph 1.

Rule 23
Quorum of the Plenary Commission

1. A quorum of the Plenary Commission shall consist of three members including at least one of the international members.
    
2. No decision on the admissibility of an application (whether to declare the application admissible or inadmissible) or on the merits of an application (including a decision on remedies), or to suspend consideration of, reject or strike out an application under Article VIII paragraph 3 of the Agreement may be taken unless at least three members of the Commission vote in favour of the decision.
    
3. Paragraph 2 above shall also apply to decisions of the same nature in any review proceedings relating to decisions of the former Chamber thatwhich may be pending before the Commission, and to decisions on requests for review in such proceedings.
    
4. Decisions on procedural and other matters not falling within paragraph 2 or paragraph 3 above may be taken by a majority of members present.

Chapter 3
The Panel

Rule 24
Constitution of the Panel

The Panel shall be composed of the three national members of the Commission in accordance with Article 8 of the 2003 Agreement.

Rule 25
Quorum and Meetings of the Panel

1. A quorum of the Panel shall be three members.
    
2. Subject to any decision of the President of the Commission, the Panel shall meet as circumstances require.

Rule 26
Referral of applications to the Plenary Commission and the Panel

1. Applications shall be referred to the Panel in accordance with general guidelines decided on by the Plenary Commission.
    
2. Where When a case pending before the Panel raises a serious question as to the interpretation of the Agreement or of any of the international agreements referred to in it, or where when the resolution of a question before the Panel might have a result inconsistent with previous jurisprudence of the former Human Rights Chamber or the Commission, the Panel may at any time before taking a final decision relinquish jurisdiction in favour of the Plenary Commission.
    
3. The President may decide to refer to the Plenary Commission any application pending before the Panel whichthat, to him or her,
   
   (a) appears to raise a serious question as to the interpretation of the Agreement or of any of the international agreements referred to in it, or
   
   (b) for any other justified reason appears to require such a course.