Which stages of a Constitutional Court adjudication must be opened to the public, and which are kept closed?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the notice and record of the hearing, the minute of the decision's pronouncement, and any paper showing whether the adjudication was conducted on written submissions, since publicity attaches only to the stages this provision names.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision as written: the argument in an adjudication and the pronouncement of the decision must be held in public, while the adjudication conducted on written submissions and the deliberation among the justices are not opened, so publicity attaches to those two named stages only.
Another reading turns to the further part of this provision, which applies the Court Organisation Act's provisions on closing the court to Constitutional Court adjudication, so the public character of the argument and the pronouncement may be cut back in situations this provision does not itself spell out.
Your judgment
If the papers show written submissions were filed and counsel also appeared and spoke, how should the file show whether that stage was an argument or a review on written submissions?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We revisit this card if the provision is amended as to what must be public, or if a Constitutional Court decision explains how the applied provisions of the Court Organisation Act narrow that publicity.