The previous posts in this series addressed the need for the CCF to schedule sessions proportionally to the number of requests for relief it receives each year. RNLJ advocates that it is not feasible to continue scheduling 3-4 sessions every year if the number of requests the CCF receives continues to increase.
Recalling the statistics according to the CCF’s annual activity reports, the CCF received 643 new requests in 2015, and 1,417 in 2021, but convened only four times in both years. This means that INTERPOL’s CCF held the same number of sessions despite receiving over twice as many requests.
Time allotted for each case
It is important to note the actual time allotted for the CCF to review each request. If each of the four sessions held in 2021 was four days long, and the CCF members convened for 8 hours per day, members would have had to reach decisions on over 11 cases each hour to review all 1,417. That is about 5 minutes allotted to each request sent in. There is no denying that 5 minutes is far too little time to truly consider a case, even if it has been well-reviewed by the CCF’s capable full-time staff.
Solutions
The Commission could remedy this problem by:
- Increasing the number of sessions so they are scheduled proportionally to the number of requests to be considered.
- Holding remote “mini-sessions:” All Commission members are from different countries and have full-time positions elsewhere. Holding shorter sessions remotely would allow members to remain in their countries while addressing simpler cases, leaving more complex matters to be addressed in Lyon during formal in-person meetings.
- Recruiting additional members to the Commission, and divide the requests into categories to ensure uniformity in analysis and approach.
Any combination of these solutions could reduce the workload and increase the efficiency of the Commission.
As always, thoughts and comments are welcomed.
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