Chapter 2 Administration of justice
Article 2 Type of courts
The courts belonging to the judiciary are:
a) the district
courts,
b) the courts of appeal, and
c) the Supreme Court.
Article 3 Applicability regulation to the Supreme Court
Parts 2 and 6 do not apply to the Supreme Court.
Article 3a [repealed on 20-3-1947]
Article 4 Hearing in public
- 1. Unless provided otherwise by law, hearings
must be public, on penalty of nullity.
- 2. The examination during the hearing may,
for compelling reasons, be conducted wholly or partly in private. The
reasons must be stated in the official record of the hearing.
Article 5 Judgments pronounced in public
- 1. On penalty
of nullity, judgments in civil and criminal cases must be pronounced in
public and must contain the grounds on which they are based.
- 2. On penalty of nullity, orders and judgments
in civil and criminal cases and rulings in administrative cases are given
by the number of judicial officers responsible for the administration
of justice determined in this Act.
- 3. If it is provided by statute that persons
other than judicial officers also form part of a full-bench chamber, the
decisions of the full-bench chamber concerned are also null and void if
they have not been taken by the number of non-judicial members specified
in this Act.
Article 5a [repealed on 1-1-2002]
Article 6 Single-judge and full-bench chambers
- 1. The management
board of a court must set up single-judge and full-bench chambers to hear
and decide cases and swear in the officials designated for this purpose
by statute and must determine their composition.
- 2. Unless provided otherwise in this Act,
the full-bench chambers must consist of three judicial officers responsible
for the administration of justice, one of whom acts as presiding judge.
If persons other than judicial officers also form part of a full-bench
chamber, a judicial officer responsible for the administration of justice
must act as presiding judge.
- 3. The management board may decide that,
in the interests of the safety of persons or if the hearing will last
more than one day, one or more judicial officers responsible for the administration
of justice should be ready to replace one of the members of a full-bench
chamber in a case. These judicial officers are present when the case is
heard in court, but do not take part in the examination in court or in
the deliberations and decision on the case, unless they deputise for one
of the absent members at the request of the presiding judge of the full-bench
chamber.
- 4. This Article does not apply to the Supreme
Court.
Article 6a [repealed on 1-6-1999]
Article 6b [repealed on 1-6-1999]
Article 6c [repealed on 1-6-1999]
Article 6d [repealed on 1-1-2002]
Article 7 Decision-making in chambers
- 1. In chambers
the presiding judge of the full-bench chamber must ask the members individually
for their opinion. The presiding judge must give his opinion last.
- 2. Each member must participate in the decision-making.
- 3. Judicial officers responsible for the
administration of justice, court legal assistants, trainee judicial officers,
clerk/registrar and deputy and acting clerks/registrars of the Supreme
Court, court officials and external clerks of the court/registrars as
referred to in Article 14, paragraph 4 may not divulge matters discussed
in chambers concerning pending cases.
Article 7a [repealed on 1-1-2002]
Article 7b [repealed on 1-1-1997]
Article 7c [repealed on 1-1-1997]
Article 8 Deputy justices and deputy judges
Deputy justices and deputy judges may be called upon by the management
board to hear and decide cases.
Article 8a [repealed on 1-1-1997]
Article 9 Judge may deputise for a colleague at another court
The Council may require a member of a court of appeal or district court
to deputise for the holder of another judicial office at a different court
of appeal or district court, as the case may be, with the agreement of
the member concerned and the management board of the court where he is
employed.
Article 10 Registry of the court (clerk of the court)
- 1. The registry
must be open at least six hours a day on all working days in the court’s
principal seat and its subsidiary seat.
- 2. The registry is not open on all working
days, or is open for less than six hours a day, in the court’s subsidiary
place of sitting.
Article 11 Rules for the administration of the courts by Order in Council
Rules for the administration of the courts must be laid down by Order
in Council.
Article 11a [repealed on 15-5-2002]
Article 11b [repealed on 1-1-2002]
Article 11c [repealed on 1-1-2002]
Article 12 Confidentiality and secrecy about trials
The judicial officers responsible for the administration of justice, the
court legal assistants, the trainee judicial officers and the clerk/registrar
and deputy clerks/registrars of the Supreme Court may not in any way discuss
with parties or their lawyers, local counsel or representatives any disputes
which are pending before them or which they know or believe will become
pending before them.
Article 12a [repealed on 1-1-2002]
Article 13 Confidentiality about other information
Judicial officers responsible for the administration of justice, court
legal assistants, trainee judicial officers, clerk/registrar and deputy
and acting clerks/registrars of the Supreme Court, court officials and
external clerks of the court/registrars as referred to in Article 14,
paragraph 4 may not divulge information which comes to their attention
in the course of their work and which they know – or can reasonably
be expected to know – to be of a confidential nature, except in
so far as they are legally obliged to communicate it or their position
makes it necessary for them to communicate it.
Article 13a [repealed on 1-1-2002]
Article 13b [repealed on 1-1-2002]
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