Elections on Trial: The Effective Management of Election Disputes and Violations ANNEX I. Case Management Recommendations Checklist Below is a simple, non-exhaustive checklist to determine whether an EDR case management system is ensuring a fair, efficient, effective and transparent EDR process. Fairness ✓ Do specific procedures exist for electoral disputes? ✓ Are there provisions and mechanisms in place for notifying a respondent of a complaint? ✓ Are there provisions and mechanisms in place that provide an opportunity for a respondent to prepare a defense or response? ✓ Do the rules of procedure and case management process provide for an investigation process to ascertain the facts of the case? ✓ Does the case management process allow for hearings to be scheduled to provide parties with an opportunity to present arguments? ✓ Does the case management process facilitate the development of a written, reasoned decision on the dispute? Efficiency ✓ Are reasonable deadlines in place for the filing, adjudication, and disposition of different types of electoral disputes and complaints? ✓ Do deadlines allow for proper investigation, adjudication, hearings, and decision-writing in practice? ✓ Does a case management system and platform exist to support the management and disposition of cases within the deadlines? Effectiveness ✓ Are written, reasoned decisions produced and made available to parties to the dispute? ✓ Is there a right to appeal a decision or seek judicial review, and is this right factored into deadlines for electoral cases? ✓ Are remedies clearly set out for different types of disputes, and are these remedies applied in practice? Transparency ✓ Do parties to a dispute have access to case information in real time as a dispute is being investigated and adjudicated? ✓ Does the case management process or platform ensure that information on the number and type of electoral disputes received and adjudicated is made public in a timely and accessible manner? ✓ If hearings are conducted, are they open to the public? ✓ Are written decisions made publicly available in an accessible format? 41