PART 2: How to Bring a Case to the Court Decisions of the Panel are final. Since the Panel does not provide reasons for referral decisions, it is difficult to determine exactly what considerations are decisive in any particular case. In any event, it appears from Article 43 that the referral procedure should not be regarded as an appeal on points of fact. It is not surprising, therefore, that the nature and the number of the cases referred to the Grand Chamber illustrate that the Panel will only accept requests for referral in exceptional cases. Indeed, in 2005 the Panel examined a total of 183 requests for referrals and accepted only 20.267 If the request is accepted by the Panel, the case referred to the Grand Chamber will embrace in principle all aspects of the application previously examined by the Chamber in its judgment. The scope of its jurisdiction is limited only by the Chamber’s decision on admissibility. This means that the Grand Chamber is precluded from examining complaints that have been declared inadmissible by the Chamber. However, regarding the complaints declared admissible by the Chamber, the Grand Chamber may also examine, where appropriate, issues relating to their admissibility in the same manner as this is possible in normal Chamber proceedings: for example by virtue of Article 35 § 4 in fine of the Convention (which empowers the Court to “reject any application which it considers inadmissible […] at any stage of the proceedings”), or where such issues have been joined to the merits or where they are otherwise relevant at the merits stage.268 The Grand Chamber will generally hold a hearing in Strasbourg before adopting its judgment. Chambers can also relinquish jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber. According to Article 30 of the Convention a relinquishment is possible if a case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation of the Convention or the protocols thereto, or where the resolution of a question before the Chamber might have a result inconsistent with a judgment previously delivered by the Court, […] unless one of the parties to the case objects. For instance, in the case of O’Keeffe v. Ireland,269 which dealt with the failure by the state to put appropriate mechanisms in place to protect National School pupils from sexual abuse by a teacher, a Chamber by the Fifth Section decided to relinquish jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber. 267 Fifty-six of the 121 requests were made by Governments and five by both parties. See for further information the Annual Activity Report 2005 of the Grand Chamber at http://www.echr.coe.int/ NR/rdonlyres/AF356FA8-1861-4A6B-95E9-28ED53787710/0/2005GrandChamberactivityreport.pdf. 268 K. and T. v. Finland [GC], no. 25702/94, 12 July 2001, §§ 140–141. 269 O’Keeffe v. Ireland [GC], no. 35810/09, 28 January 2014, § 6. 97