The opening of the session for the review of an administrative complaint

1. On the day and at the hour designated, the parties shall give notice of their presence to the secretariat specifically established by the CEC.

2. Before the session begins, the administration of the CEC shall summon the parties or their representatives and invite them to take their designated places.

3. After the examination session is declared open, the procedural standing of the parties shall be verified, in accordance with Article 133 of this Code.

4. If one or several of the parties do not appear on the day and at the hour designated, the session shall be held regardless of their participation.

5. Before the parties present their claims, the CEC shall:

a) accept or reject the individual statements of the CEC members on the existence of conflicts of interests, according to point 3 of Article 17 of this Code; 

b) decide on the requests of the parties concerning the exclusion of CEC members due to the existence of a conflict of interests, in accordance with point of Article 17 of this Code;

c) decide on the requests of the parties or of the rapporteur for the CEC not to review the case because of a lack of competence on the part of the CEC or because of the expiry of the deadline for complaints.

6. After it has made a decision on the preliminary requests of the parties, and if these do not lead to the dismissal of the administrative review, the CEC shall review and decide the case on its merits without interrupting the session. The session shall be interrupted only when the acquisition of evidence from third parties is necessary.