Last-instance bodies in electoral dispute-resolution systems Figure 3.10 shows that it is possible to appeal the decisions of firstinstance EDR bodies in 49 per cent of countries. In some of these countries there are several levels of hearing before the disputed issue reaches the last-instance body, while in others the second-instance body is the last-instance body (see Figure 3.3). Figure 3.11 shows that the most common last-instance bodies are the highest-level courts of general jurisdiction. Only in two countries (South Sudan and Libya) do appeals against the decisions of lower-instance bodies not reach the highest courts. In 10 countries, the highest-level EMB is the last-instance body dealing with election results. Seven of those countries are in Latin America. This is in line with practice in Latin America, where most of the countries have Electoral Courts/Tribunals that also function as EMBs. Figure 3.11. Last-instance electoral dispute-resolution bodies dealing with disputes related to election results 48 (56%) Supreme Court, High Court, or Court of Appeals 13 (15%) Constitutional Court/Constitutional Council Hightest level electoral management body 10 (12%) Administrative Court 6 (7%) Election Tribunal or Court 5 (6%) Other 3 (4%) 0 10 20 30 Notes: Graph shows number (percentage) of countries with each option. Data for 85 countries which allow appeals against the decisions of the first-instance body. Graph represents the data in the EJD as of August 2015. The section of the EJD on last-instance bodies also contains questions that explore requirements for fees or deposits, hearings in the last instance, reasoned decisions and remedies. These questions are not covered in this report. Users who are interested in these questions can explore the online database. The maximum adjudication time allowed for the full electoral dispute-resolution process The research also attempted to collect comparative data about the maximum time allowed for the adjudication of the full EDR process, from the day a complaint about the election results is filed with the first-instance body until a decision is reached by the last-instance body. Classifying data based on maximum adjudication times was not an easy task because legislation in many countries does not clearly indicate 27 40 50