Chapter I
Principles of the constitutional legal proceedings

Article 1
1. The constitutional legal proceedings shall be conducted on the basis of equality of parties before the Constitution and the Court and adversarial nature of the proceedings.
2. Individuals and bodies referred to in the first paragraphs of Articles 33, - 39, 40, 41, paragraph 1 of Article 41, and in Article 42 of the Organic Law of Georgia on the Constitutional Court of Georgia shall be equally entitled on direct appeal to the Constitutional Court. (25.11.2004 №600)
3. The parties shall enjoy the equal rights and opportunities to corroborate their claims, object or rebut the claims, observations and evidences of the other party.

Article 2
1. The Constitutional Court shall consider cases at an open sitting.
2. On the initiative of the Constitutional Court or upon the petition of the parties, the sitting of the Constitutional Court or a part thereof may be closed to the public for the protection of a state, personal, professional, commercial secret. The witnesses, experts and interpreters may be present at a closed sitting, if need be. Upon the petition of the parties, the Constitutional Court may entitle other persons to be present at a closed sitting as well.
3. The Constitutional Court shall adopt a ruling on the consideration of the case at a closed sitting in the judges’ deliberation room.
4. An individual under the age of sixteen shall not be admitted to a court sitting, unless he/she is a witness; nor shall an armed person other than those ensuring the security of the Constitutional Court, and the latter shall be admitted only by the permission of the President of the Constitutional Court.
5. Radio, television, audio or video recording at a court sitting shall be permissible only by the consent of the Court, considering a particular case.
6. The present article shall not be applied, when the Constitutional court considers a case without oral hearing. (29.12.2006 N4216)

Article 3
The legal proceedings before the Constitutional Court shall be conducted in Georgian. The Court shall be obliged to attach an interpreter to the participant to the case having no command of the language of the legal proceedings.

Article   4
1. Only the judges, participating directly in the consideration of the case, shall be authorized to adopt a judgment. If any of the judges is substituted, the case shall be re-considered.
2. The removal of a judge, participating in the consideration of a case, shall not prevent from further considering the case, if the number of the rest judges secures a quorum. (12.02.02 №1270 )

Article 5.

1. A  court sitting  shall be conducted orally, except the cicumstances provided for in Article 27¹ of the Organic Law of Georgia  on the Constitutional Court of Georgia. The Court shall be obliged to hear the explanations and submissions of the participants to the legal proceedings, as well as the testimonies of witnesses, experts and specialists, and to make open to public the written evidences on the case-file and adduced by the participants. (29.12.2006 N4216)

2. In cases provided for in Article 27¹ of the Organic Law of Georgia on the Constitutional Court of Georgia, the Constitutional Court shall make a reference to consideration of a case without oral hearing in the recording notice on admission of a constitutional claim/ submission for consideration on the merits.(29.12.2006 N4216)

3. In consideration of a case  without oral hearing the Constitutional Court shall be authorised to receive a recording notice to consider a case with oral hearing for thorough examination of the  circumstances of a case  , which should be immediately noticed to the parties of the case.( 29.12.2006 N4216).

Article 6
1. A court sitting, as well as the deliberation of judges, shall be conducted without cease in the course of a working day.
2. The Court shall be authorized to postpone or suspend the consideration of a case, if it is necessary to summon additional witnesses and specialists, to conduct expertise, demand additional evidence, as well as to avoid other circumstances impeding the consideration of the case. The consideration of the case shall be resumed from the moment when it is stopped.
3. (12.02.02 №1270)
4. A judge of the Constitutional Court, participating in the consideration of a case, shall be authorized to take part in the consideration of another case before termination of the consideration of a postponed or a suspended case. (12.02.02 №1270)
5. The Plenum/Board of the Constitutional Court shall be authorized to decide about the admissibility of a constitutional claim and/or a constitutional submission while deciding about the admissibility of another constitutional claim or submission, or considering the merits thereof. (12.02.02 №1270 )

Article 7
1. The Court shall adopt a judgment in the judges’ deliberation room by open vote. While deliberating and adopting the judgment, only those judges, who have participated in the consideration of the case, shall be present in the deliberation room.
2. A judge, participating in the case, shall have no right to decline from voting or abstain during voting (12.02.02 №1270 )
3. A member of the Constitutional Court, participating in the consideration of a case, shall have the right to form a dissenting opinion while adopting a judgment, which shall be set out in writing.
4. The dissenting opinion of a member of the Constitutional Court shall be attached to the minutes of the sitting of the Constitutional Court and at the author’s request shall be published in the press together with the constitutional court judgment.
5. A constitutional court judgment, together with the dissenting opinion, shall be promulgated in full in the official gazette of the Constitutional Court.

Article 8
1. No one shall have the right to require an account or explanation on a particular case from a member of the Constitutional Court.
2. A member of the Constitutional Court shall not have the right to:
a. express opinions or give an advice to anyone on conformity with the Constitution of the impugned laws or other acts before the beginning of the consideration of a case or outside the court sitting;
b. disclose the gist of the deliberations of the Constitutional Court while adopting a judgment or the position held by a member of the Constitutional Court during voting.