Rules of Procedure of the High Court of the Canton of Solothurn and its Affiliated Special Courts (CCS)

1. The regulation applies to the High Court and the specialized courts affiliated with it (Administrative Court, Insurance Court).

1. The full court submits proposals to the Cantonal Council for the election of the President and the Vice President of the Supreme Court.

2. The full court appoints the chambers and elects a President and a Vice President for each chamber, as well as the reporting members.

3. The full court assigns the judges to the Administrative Court and the Insurance Court.

1. The competencies of the full court are regulated in the Law on the Organization of Courts.

2. The full court has a quorum when at least 7 members participate.

1. The President of the Higher Court

a) represents the court externally;

b) presides over the full court;

c) ensures the organizational coordination of the various chambers and affiliated specialized courts;

d)* prepares the resolutions of the full court and the executive management and implements them;

e)* serves as the Internal Control System (ICS) delegate.

2. The Vice President is represented by the senior-most member of the Higher Court in the event of incapacity.

1. The executive board consists of the presidents of the High Court, the Civil Chamber, the Criminal Chamber, the Administrative Court, and the Insurance Court.

2. The president shall be represented by the vice president in case of absence. The executive board shall have quorum when three members are present.

3. The chief court clerk shall prepare the minutes and submit them to the members of the High Court for their information.

4. The executive board is responsible for

a) the administrative management of the High Court;

b) the planning of case processing;

c) the allocation of court clerks and office staff;

d) the issuance of guidelines for the use of substitute members;

e) the issuance of instructions on the uniform design of judgments and documents;

f) the preparation of matters for the plenary court;

g)* preparation and budget proposal for the court administration commission;

h) the allocation of credits;

i) all other administrative matters not assigned to another body.

1. Obligations Related to Cases (such as Expert Reports, Witness Fees, Translation Fees) are established by the responsible caseworker or the instruction judge. Decisions regarding the involvement of substitute judges are made by the chamber president or the vice president.

2. Obligations related to educational events are established by the respective chamber president or the vice president, or their deputies, within the allocated budget.

3. Decisions regarding the acquisition of books are made by the Library Commission (§ 36 para. 2).

4. Other obligations up to the amount of 300 Francs are established by the President of the Supreme Court; obligations exceeding this amount are handled by the Executive Board.

5. Visas on booking documents or invoices related to cases are provided by the responsible court clerk along with the responsible caseworker or their deputies.

6. Visas on other invoices or booking documents are provided by office personnel or court clerks with the chief court clerk or the President of the Supreme Court, or their deputies.

7. The Executive Board issues, for the court treasury, regularly updated lists of authorized signatories for creditor and booking documents, allowances and deduction notifications, as well as their releases, including specimen signatures.

1. The chambers decide the cases assigned to them by the court organization as independent courts.

2. They may submit fundamental legal questions to the full court.

3. Involvement of the full court is mandatory if a chamber intends to deviate from a previous decision of the full court or from a published leading decision (SOG) of another chamber or a specialized court affiliated with the higher court.

4. The chamber is bound by the decision of the full court.

1. Supervisory Complaints Against Chambers of the Superior Court, Against the Administrative and Insurance Court Are Handled by the Full Court.

1. Transactions for which the Superior Court is responsible under the Introductory Act to the Civil Code and its implementing decrees are handled by the Civil Chamber. The issuance of generally abstract norms by the full court remains reserved.

1. The President of the Chamber determines the composition of the adjudicating panel.

2. Members of a chamber who are unable to serve or are to be relieved are replaced by other members of the higher court or by substitute members. Generally, no more than one substitute member should be appointed.

3. When forming the adjudicating panels, the President of the Chamber specifically considers the following criteria and circumstances

a) an equitable distribution of judges in the respective chambers according to their workload and availability (particularly absences due to vacation, illness, etc.);

b) the specific expertise of the judges in the respective subject area;

c) the involvement of members of both genders in cases where the nature of the dispute suggests it is appropriate;

d) participation in prior decisions in the same subject area or in complex proceedings.

1. The President of the Chamber manages the proceedings and appoints a reporting member for each case. The management of the proceedings can be delegated to this member.

2. The rapporteur submits a reasoned judgment proposal. In difficult or complex matters, this must be documented in writing.

3. The rapporteur may declare a written draft by a court clerk as the proposal.

1. The chamber may postpone the deliberation to a later date if the course of the hearing or the deliberation makes it appear necessary to conduct an additional study.

2. If evidence is gathered in the main hearing or new legal arguments are presented in the party submissions, the deliberation must be postponed if a member so requests.

1. If the consultation is confidential, only the members of the chamber and the court clerk, along with legal interns employed at the higher court, may be present.

2. These individuals are prohibited from making any statements regarding the opinions, the voting ratio, and the casting of votes.

1. The full court and the chambers may make decisions by circulation.

2. The basis of a decision by circulation is a written, reasoned application to which the other members have given their written consent.

3. If not all members agree, the matter will be decided in an oral hearing.

1. On Requests by Third Parties for Access to Files, the decision is made by the Management of the Proceedings, and after the conclusion of the proceedings, by the President of the respective Chamber.

1. Members of the Superior Court must, in principle, refrain from expressing any opinions regarding pending cases to third parties. They are prohibited from receiving communications and recommendations concerning pending proceedings.

2. Exempted from this are contacts with the parties in the context of settlement efforts.

3. Also exempted are recommendations to withdraw the claim or appeal if it is hopeless and the legal situation is completely clear.

1. The chambers inform the media about their case law, provided there is a public interest and no legitimate interests of the parties involved are opposed.

1. The Higher Court regulates details in guidelines, subject to the following provisions.

1. Information Office of the Higher Court is the Chief Clerk of the Higher Court.

2. Information Offices of the Chambers are the Senior Court Clerks.

1. The dates of public court hearings are generally published. The guidelines may provide exceptions, particularly for reasons of personal privacy protection. The guidelines govern the form of the publication.

1. The Higher Court publishes its decisions on the internet. Leading decisions are designated as such.

2. The guidelines determine the exceptions and regulate the details.

1. The chairperson shall ensure peace and order.

2. He or she may call in the cantonal police.

1. Image and sound recordings are prohibited during the proceedings in the courtroom.

2. The presiding judge may extend the prohibition to the entire courthouse (corridors, etc.). The prohibition may also be ordered for on-site inspections and external hearing rooms.

3. The presiding judge may grant exceptions, provided that such exceptions do not violate personal rights.

4. In criminal proceedings, Article 71 of the Code of Criminal Procedure applies.

1. Members of the court and individuals representing parties must appear at the proceedings in appropriate attire.

1. The full court approves the accountability report for submission to the Court Administration Commission.

2. The higher court judges assist the Court Administration Commission in overseeing the first-instance courts (inspections, accountability report).

1. The provisions regarding the High Court apply mutatis mutandis to the specialized courts affiliated with the High Court.

1. Section 6 applies to the special courts with the deviation that the decision of the full court only has an advisory character.

1. The clerical offices of the chambers and special courts are responsible for administrative tasks such as control, documentation, and the archiving of files and records.

2. Clerical staff may be involved in the documentation of proceedings for single-judge instruction, conciliation, and settlement hearings.

1. The Senior Court Clerk

a) is a member of the full court and the management board with an advisory vote;

b)* is responsible for the secretarial work for the full court, the management board, and the senior court presidency;

c)* prepares the matters of the senior court and the management board together with the president;

d)* ensures coordination among the offices of the chambers and the specialized courts.

1. The Chief Court Clerk

a) is responsible for documentation management,

b) ensures internal information regarding the case law of the chambers and special courts.

1. The Chief Court Clerk may assign overall operational tasks either generally or on a case-by-case basis to the Deputy.

2. The Senior Court Clerks serve as the deputies for the Chief Court Clerk.

1. The chief court clerks support the presidium of the assigned chamber or specialized court and manage their office.

2. They ensure the execution of orders issued by the court or its members.

3. Within the scope of their duties, they are responsible for the recording, justification, and drafting of judgments and orders rendered by the court, and for their delivery to the parties involved.

4. They are responsible for the issuance of certificates of finality.

5. They are responsible for supervising the legal interns assigned to them and issuing internship certificates.

6. They serve as the point of information for the media.

7. They ensure representation during their absence.

1. Court clerks manage the instruction, recording, and reasoning of judgments in all chambers and special courts to which they are assigned.

2. They may be entrusted with drafting judgment proposals.

3. The presidency of the chamber or special court may assign them additional internal court duties.

1. ...

1. The full court elects a library commission consisting of three members of the higher court and the chief court clerk. The commission constitutes itself.

2. The library commission decides on the acquisition of books and issues directives regarding the management and use of the library.

1. The Superior Court Library primarily serves the needs of the Superior Court. It is also available to other Solothurn courts, the district offices, and the legal services of the cantonal administration.

2. The library is open to anyone with a professional or academic interest, insofar as the needs mentioned in paragraph 1 allow.

3. The Library Commission determines the library's opening hours and specifies which books may not be borrowed.

4. Individuals who do not comply with the library regulations, especially those who do not promptly return books upon notice or who deface books with annotations or otherwise damage them, may be excluded from using the library by the Library Commission.

1. The regulation shall enter into force on January 1, 1999. The right of objection by the Cantonal Council remains reserved.

2. With the entry into force of the business regulation, the business regulation of the Higher Court dated September 24, 1986, and all conflicting directives of the Higher Court shall be repealed.