Article 16 Time limits for the settlement of a case

Once the secretariat has verified the referral and examined the case as provided for in the applicable provisions of Article 7, it shall send it to the Chair and the members of the Panel. The Chair shall verify the preparation of the file, after requesting additional measures of verification or examination, where applicable.

The duration of the procedure, which shall start when the Chair verifies the preparation of the file and terminate when an opinion and, if applicable, a recommendation is notified to the referring authority, shall, in principle, be no more than three months. This period may be extended by the Chair in order, inter alia, to ensure that the right to be heard is respected.