Procedure

Basic Texts

The procedural rules and guidelines concerning the conduct of cases before the Tribunal are contained in the Convention, the Statute of the Tribunal, the Rules of the Tribunal, adopted on 28 October 1997, the Resolution on the Internal Judicial Practice of the Tribunal, adopted on 31 October 1997, and the Guidelines concerning the Preparation and Presentation of Cases before the Tribunal, adopted on 28 October 1997.

Proceedings

The proceedings consist of two stages: written and oral. They are to be conducted without unnecessary delay or expense (Rules, articles 44, paragraph 1, and 49).

Official languages 

The official languages of the Tribunal are English and French (Rules, article 43).

Official communications and means of communication

In all cases submitted to the Tribunal, communications, notifications and documents are addressed to the Registrar, who is the regular channel of communications to and from the Tribunal (Rules, articles 36, paragraph 1(a), and 51).

All communications to the parties are sent to their agents, who shall have an address in Hamburg or Berlin (Rules, articles 52, paragraph 1, 53, paragraph 1, and 56, paragraph 1).

All documents, pleadings and other communications may be delivered to the Tribunal directly, by courier or by regular mail. They may also be sent by facsimile or other electronic means; in such a case the date on which the Tribunal receives them is regarded as the material date provided that the paper originals are received without unreasonable delay (Guidelines, paragraph 10).

List of cases

The Registrar keeps a List of cases submitted to the Tribunal (Rules, article 36, paragraph 1(b)).