Chapter 3: Complaints Adjudication Training for Election Management Bodies and Political Parties C. Training Course Structure The following are some suggestions for potential training course sessions. The plans actually developed and utilized by trainers and organizers should take the situation on the ground into account, and therefore may differ markedly from the provided materials. Introduction of Laws and Regulations – This session will detail the pertinent statutory laws and regulations that serve as the basis for electoral complaints adjudication. Case law, if extant, should be utilized as examples to clarify statutory law, and to clearly show the working law in practice. Rights and Responsibilities of Political Parties – This session would clearly detail the function that the political parties serve and their relation to the democratic structure. Participants will be alerted to the legal rights parties have throughout the electoral process, with specific focus on post-election complaints. At the conclusion of this session attendees should be able to determine which rights they do and do not have when protecting the interest of their party and their party’s candidates. Electoral Violations and Election Offenses – This session should cover an overview of the types of violations or offenses relative to the various phases of the election cycle, and the difference between administrative and criminal complaints and their outcomes. Electoral Complaint Procedure – This portion of training would serve as a detailed walkthrough of the complaints process, the types of complaints that can be filed, who has standing to file a complaint, and the adjudication body to which complaints must be submitted based on the subject matter. Preparing Submissions – This session should familiarize participants with the forms required, the deadlines by which complaints must be submitted, how to avoid dismissal of complaints on technical grounds, and what constitutes sufficient evidence to support the claim (the burden of proof required). Appeal Procedure – Lastly, training should outline the avenues of appeal should a complaint be rejected or an adverse ruling is entered. The list of session topics found above is by no means comprehensive. For example, information in regards to strategizing before, or healing public perception after, disputing an election is not included. These concerns undoubtedly weigh heavily on any decision by a political party to 151