Rule 8Election of the President and Vice-Presidents of the Court and the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Sections

The plenary Court shall elect its President, two Vice-Presidents and the Presidents of the Sections for a period of three years, provided that such period shall not exceed the duration of their terms of office as judges.

For the purposes of any election occurring in 2015 after the entry into force of this provision2., the following temporary rule shall apply: the term of office of any President of Section elected during this period shall be two years, provided that his or her term of office as judge does not expire before that date.

Each Section shall likewise elect for a period of three years a Vice-President, who shall replace the President of the Section if the latter is unable to carry out his or her duties.

A judge elected in accordance with paragraphs 1 or 2 above may be re-elected but only once to the same level of office. This limitation on the number of terms of office shall not prevent a judge holding an office as described above on the date of the entry into force3. of the present amendment to Rule 8 from being re-elected once to the same level of office.

The Presidents and Vice-Presidents shall continue to hold office until the election of their successors.

The elections referred to in paragraph 1 of this Rule shall be by secret ballot. Only the elected judges who are present shall take part. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes cast, an additional round or rounds shall take place until one candidate has achieved an absolute majority. After each round, any candidate receiving fewer than five votes shall be eliminated; and if more than two candidates have received five votes or more, the one who has received the least number of votes shall also be eliminated. If there is more than one candidate in this position, only the candidate who is lowest in the order of precedence in accordance with Rule 5 shall be eliminated. In the event of a tie between two candidates in the final round, preference shall be given to the judge having precedence in accordance with Rule 5.

The rules set out in the preceding paragraph shall apply to the elections referred to in paragraph 2 of this Rule. However, where more than one round of voting is required until one candidate has achieved an absolute majority, only the candidate who has received the least number of votes shall be eliminated after each round.