administrative disputes in other polls, follows the rules of the Administrative Disputes Law.40 As such, the requirements of international standards for electoral dispute resolution,41 Consideration should be given to mandating public including the right to receive reasonable hearings in some electoral disputes. Any amendments to these rules would have to make notice of a claim, reasonable opportunity to allowances for the need for the electoral process prepare a defense, and the right to a fair and to be expeditious, fair, and efficient so as to avoid eroding the perceived legitimacy of the decisions. impartial fact-finding process, hearing, and Any hearings would have to ensure the parties’ decision should all be assessed against the equal rights to present facts (including the provisions of the Administrative Disputes defence), which may be unviable given the (currently) short time limits. Law. This piece of legislation stipulates that fact-finding in administrative disputes takes place, as a rule, in public hearings, which in effect means it does not mandate public hearings. Since the Administrative Court does not make decisions based on public hearings, compliance with some international standards could be jeopardized. As such, consideration should be given to mandating public hearings in some electoral disputes. Nevertheless, any amendments to these rules would have to make allowances for the need for the electoral process to be expeditious, fair, and efficient to avoid eroding the perceived legitimacy of the decisions. Any hearings would have to ensure the parties’ equal rights to present facts (including the defense), which may be unviable given the (currently) short time limits. Time limits and procedures: parliamentary elections Appeals must be lodged promptly, within 48 hours, via the REC, which is required to forward to the Administrative Court the objection and all required case files within 24 hours of receiving the appeal (Art. 97 LEMP). The wording ‘all required case files’ may be a stumbling block as the REC in effect screens documents before they are forwarded to the Court and sends out only the ‘required’ ones. By not providing any documents that may be relevant for the Administrative Court to make its decision, the REC can materially affect the Court’s decision-making and The requirement for the NEC to virtually shape the outcome of the case. This provision forward all required documents to the Administrative Court should be ought to be amended to require the REC to amended to require the NEC to provide forward all case files to the Administrative Court all case files, without any vetting. without any vetting. The Administrative Court is required to rule on an appeal at the latest within 48 hours of receiving the appeal and the accompanying documents. The remedies envisaged by the Administrative Disputes Law may not be used to contest this ruling. This view is corroborated by case law, which excludes the application, mutatis mutandis, of the Administrative Disputes Law, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 111/2009. Chad Vickery, Guidelines for Understanding, Adjudicating, and Resolving Disputes in Elections - GUARDE (2011), IFES, Arlington. 40 41 31