244. Although constitutional provisions about the independence of constitutional courts or councils which are not part of the judiciary are unusual, such bodies have a constitutional rank and status equivalent to that of the highest judicial body and their members enjoy similar structural guarantees, as is discussed in paragraph 298. 245. As for EDRSs entrusted to administrative courts, Article 5 of the Regulatory Statute on the Administration of Justice of Colombia expressly establishes that ‘The Judicial Branch is independent and autonomous in the performance of its constitutional and statutory function of administering justice’. Similarly, Article 1 of the Constitution of Finland provides that ‘Judicial powers are exercised by independent courts of law, with the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court as the highest instances’. 246. In an example of an EDR system entrusted to specialized electoral courts, Article 99 of the Mexican Constitution provides that the EDRB – the Electoral Court of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación) – will, except for an action challenging the constitutionality of general election laws and statutes which comes under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, be the highest-level judicial authority in relation to electoral matters. Also, Article 17 of the Constitution provides that the statutes shall establish the means necessary for guaranteeing the independence of the courts and the full enforcement of their rulings provided for in the Organic Law on the Judicial Branch of the Federation. 247. An example of an EDRS entrusted to the EMB is found in Article 99 of the Costa Rican Constitution, which states that ‘The organization, direction, and supervision of acts pertaining to suffrage are the exclusive function of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which does enjoy independence in the performance of its duties’. ii) Functional independence of the EDRB 248. An EDRB enjoys functional independence when it is separate from any other body and acts without institutional subordination to any other body. It cannot be under any legal obligation in the performance of its functions to any other body, either superior to it or belonging to any other type of authority. It is bound only by the provisions of the constitution, statute law and any other applicable provisions. In several EDRSs, greater functional independence 91 6. Principles and guarantees of EDR systems judicial powers shall be independent with the authority to conduct judicial affairs in order to uphold law and justice … implemented by … a constitutional court’ (Indonesia). Sometimes, however, there are special provisions: ‘The Constitutional Court… is an independent judicial body charged with the protection of constitutionality’ (Slovakia).