Composition
Twenty-one seats. Thirteen go to residents chosen at random, and they outnumber the judges in every formation of the Council.
Article 209(1): the Council consists of twenty-one members: thirteen residents drawn by lot, and eight judges elected by the judges of the Republic.
Article 209(3): a member of the Assembly, a member of an executive committee, a delegate to a planning body, an officer of a party, a member of the Ecological Budget Authority, an officer of a federation and a person holding a management organ of an enterprise may in no case sit on the Council.
The eight judicial members
They are elected by all judges of the Republic, by secret ballot, by proportional representation, with candidacy open to every judge and requiring no nomination by any body. Article 211(2) draws them from the first instance, the regional courts and the National Court, and allows the judges of any one level no more than three of the eight seats.
They serve six years, never renewed, staggered so that four are replaced every three years. Article 211(4) excludes a president of a court or a head of a division during their leadership term and for three years afterwards.
Chair and formations
Article 212(1): the Council elects its chair annually from among the members drawn by lot, and a person may in no case chair the Council twice.
Article 212(2): the chair convenes the Council, directs its sittings and signs its acts, and in no case decides a matter alone or against the Council.
Article 212(3): formations, boards and panels are composed for each matter by lot from among the members, and are in no case standing bodies.
Article 212(4): decisions are taken by a majority of the members present, by open vote recorded by name.
Exclusion of leadership posts
The holders of leadership posts may not constitute an association, a conference or a standing body exercising influence over appointments, over discipline or over the Council. Article 205(3) confines a leadership post to the administration of a court and gives it no authority over the decisions of a judge, over the assignment of cases, over promotion, or over discipline.
Entrenchment
The composition of the Council is fixed by the Constitution and by organic law adopted under it. Article 223(2) delays any alteration until after the first ordinary election of the Assembly following its promulgation, and in no case applies it to a member in office. Article 223(5) fixes the resources of the Council as a share of the plan and forbids their reduction during the term of an Assembly.