IV. THE CHAMBER'S RULES OF PROCEDURE

Annex 6 provides that the Chamber "shall develop fair and effective procedures for the adjudication of applications" and that such procedures "shall provide for appropriate written pleadings and, on the decision of the Chamber, a hearing for oral argument or the presentation of evidence" (Article X, para. 1). Initially, the Chamber decided its procedure ad hoc, and on the basis of provisional Rules of Procedure adopted in July 1996, in line with the principles set forth in the Dayton Agreement. The Chamber's Rules of Procedure (attached to this Report as Annex E), adopted in December 1996 and modified in May and September 1998 (and again in March 2001), are intended to give effect to those principles. They are modeled to a large extent on the rules of procedure of the former European Commission and Court of Human Rights, although substantial adjustments have been made to accommodate the special composition and circumstances of the Chamber.

The Rules provide for a combination of written and oral procedure and for consideration of issues of both admissibility and merits. The Rules also provide for, among other matters, the giving of priority to particular applications, provisional measures, procedures at hearings, amicable resolutions, the award of monetary relief, proceedings for review by the plenary Chamber of decisions of the panels, and relations with the Human Rights Ombudsman for Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are a number of possible outcomes to proceedings before the Chamber, such as a decision rejecting the application as inadmissible, a friendly settlement of the case, a decision to strike the application off the case list, or a decision on the merits. The Chamber's decisions on the merits and decisions on review are delivered at public hearings.