A guide to the UPC and the UP - Flipbook - Page 457
Decisions of the Full Court
21-111 Decisions of the full Court require at least a three-quarter majority of the judges. 196 In practice,
this translates to the respective minimum numbers of concurring judges set out in figure 21-3.
The UPCA and RoP do not specify whether decisions of the full Court have binding effect.
However, the reason for a referral to the full Court would be defeated if this were not the case,
as there would then be no consistency and unity of the case law of the Court. The preamble to
the RoP also states that the Court, comprising both Court of First Instance and Court of Appeal,
must endeavor to ensure consistent application and interpretation of the RoP 197 which would
suggest that the Court of First Instance should follow the decisions of the Court of Appeal and
both courts should follow the decisions of the full Court of Appeal.
Figure 21-3: Decision Making in the Full Court
196
197
5 legal judges
President of the CoA
5 technical judges
Number of panels
Number of Judges
Required opinions
for majority
2 panels
11 judges
9 concurring opinions
3 panels
16 judges
12 concurring opinions
4 panels
21 judges
16 concurring opinions
r.238A(3) RoP.
para.8 preamble to RoP.
© Bird & Bird LLP | May 2023
A Guide to the UPC and the UP 447
