(1) A party may file a proposal to disqualify one or more conciliators (“proposal”) in accordance with the following procedure:
(a) the proposal shall be filed after the constitution of the Commission and within 21 days after the later of:
(i) the constitution of the Commission; or
(ii) the date on which the party proposing the disqualification first knew or first should have known of the facts upon which the proposal is based;
(b) the proposal shall include the grounds on which it is based, a statement of the relevant facts, law and arguments, and any supporting documents;
(c) the other party shall file its response and any supporting documents within 21 days after receipt of the proposal;
(d) the conciliator to whom the proposal relates may file a statement that is limited to factual information relevant to the proposal. The statement shall be filed within five days after the earlier of receipt of the response or expiry of the time limit referred to in paragraph (1)(c); and
(e) each party may file a final written submission on the proposal within seven days after the earlier of receipt of the statement or expiry of the time limit referred to in paragraph (1)(d).
(2) The proceeding shall be suspended upon the filing of the proposal until a decision on the proposal has been made, except to the extent that the parties agree to continue the proceeding.
(1) The decision on a proposal shall be made by the conciliators not subject to the proposal or by the Chair in accordance with Article 58 of the Convention.
(2) For the purposes of Article 58 of the Convention:
(a) if the conciliators not subject to a proposal are unable to decide the proposal for any reason, they shall notify the Secretary-General and they shall be considered equally divided;
(b) if a subsequent proposal is filed while the decision on a prior proposal is pending, both proposals shall be decided by the Chair as if they were a proposal to disqualify a majority of the Commission.
(3) The conciliators not subject to the proposal and the Chair shall use best efforts to decide any proposal within 30 days after the later of the expiry of the time limit referred to in Rule 19(1)(e) or the notice in Rule 20(2)(a).
If a conciliator becomes incapacitated or fails to perform the duties required of a conciliator, the procedure in Rules 19 and 20 shall apply.
(1) A conciliator may resign by notifying the Secretary-General and the other members of the Commission and providing reasons for the resignation.
(2) If the conciliator was appointed by a party, the other members of the Commission shall promptly notify the Secretary-General whether they consent to the conciliator’s resignation for the purposes of Rule 23(3)(a).
(1) The Secretary-General shall notify the parties of any vacancy on the Commission.
(2) The proceeding shall be suspended from the date of notice of the vacancy until the vacancy is filled.
(3) A vacancy on the Commission shall be filled by the method used to make the original appointment, except that the Chair shall fill the following from the Panel of Conciliators:
(a) a vacancy caused by the resignation of a party-appointed conciliator without the consent of the other members of the Commission; or
(b) a vacancy that has not been filled within 45 days after the notice of vacancy.
(4) Once a vacancy has been filled and the Commission has been reconstituted, the conciliation shall continue from the point it had reached at the time the vacancy was notified.