Hearings and hours

The Court's hearings are open to the public. The sessions are: 1 February to 31 March; 1 to 31 May; 1 August to 30 September; and 1 to 30 November. The ordinary hours of argument are: 10am to 11:15am; 11:30am to 12:45pm; and 2:15pm to 4pm. It is during these periods that the Court has public hearings.

But the bulk of the judges' work consists of analysing documents and preparing judgments, done in the library, chambers and conference room. Each judge has two full-time researchers.

The media

The Constitutional Court decides matters of great importance and interest to the public, so it strives to assist the media in reporting on its work.

The press may attend hearings and cameras in fixed positions are usually allowed in Court throughout a hearing. The Court prepares a media summary before argument and another for distribution after pronouncing its decision.

The law clerks and the library

The Constitutional Court is unique in that the judges have the help of two clerks each - see the law clerks page for more. The judges also depend heavily on the library, a major repository that is on its way to becoming a resource for the whole of Africa.