Election Investigations Guidebook In Kosovo, the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel may summarily dismiss a complaint if it does not comply with appropriate legal provisions or if it does not establish a case on its face (a prima facie case).43 EDR bodies should consider these examples in establishing criteria for dismissing a complaint. However, to reduce this process to its essential elements, investigators must presume that the evidence presented in a claim is true and accurate and then determine whether the claim contains sufficient evidence to support a judgment until contradictory evidence is presented; and, if proven true, whether the complaint would have an effect on election outcomes. Penalties to address frivolous, malicious, or bad faith complaints can include dismissal of complaints and civil or criminal sanctions, such as fines or rulings of contempt, for complainants. A number of EMBs in emerging democracies have suffered “spamming” of their complaints investigation mechanism, where high numbers of non-outcome-determinative grievances divert scarce investigative resources away from cases with substantive merits. Both partisan and non-partisan actors can drive such “denial-of-service-attacks.” The Armenian legal framework, therefore, expressly empowers its EMB to summarily dismiss complaints filed in abuse of justice.44 However, as addressed in the 2013 European Court of Human Rights decision for Tymoshenko v. Ukraine, while it is imperative for investigative bodies to take action against malicious or negligent complaints, such measures cannot deter political participation and the use of the electoral justice system. 45 In order to build trust in the process, investigative bodies must thoroughly and transparently document the reasons for dismissing a complaint. When appropriate, they should also disclose the decision to the complaining party and other stakeholders.46 This approach is reflected in several international and domestic mechanisms. For instance, when the UNDP Office of Audit and 43 Kosovo, Election Complaint and Appeals Panel, Guidebook on Complaints Process P. 15 (2010). 44 Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia art. 49 (2016) (“Applications not containing any data or containing false data concerning the applicant, applications submitted in the abuse of a right, applications submitted by a non-competent person, as well as applications submitted in violation of requirements prescribed by paragraph 2 of this part shall not be considered, administrative proceedings shall not be initiated based thereon and electoral commissions shall render decisions on rejecting the initiation of administrative proceedings. In this case, the electoral commission shall have the right to conduct administrative proceedings on its own initiative.”). 45 Tymoshenko v. Ukraine, App. No. 49872/11 Eur. Ct. H.R. at V (2013) (concerning complaints related to the detention of former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yuliya Tymoshenko, with the court finding that: pre-trial detention was arbitrary; lawfulness of her detention had not been properly reviewed; and she had no possibility to seek compensation for her unlawful deprivation of liberty). 46 34 Canadian Investigators’ Manual Ch. 3, supra note 21, at 4.