When may the Constitutional Court's division question a party or a witness, and what limits does the provision place on that questioning?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we check the division's record of why it found questioning necessary, any written application by a party asking for it, and the transcript or note recording what the party or witness said, since the provision turns on necessity and on how the questioning was ordered.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision at its word: where the division finds it necessary for the hearing of a case, it may, on its own motion or on a party's application, proceed to question a party or a witness.
Another reading notes that the provision sets who may be questioned and on whose initiative but says nothing about how the questioning is conducted or how far a party may object, so those points are not settled by the text.
Your judgment
When a party opposes the division's own-motion questioning, how could the file show that the questioning was necessary for the hearing of the case?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change the categories of evidence investigation or the standard of necessity, or if a Constitutional Court decision explains the limits of questioning a party or a witness.