Policy on the Seating of Witnesses at CCOC Dispute Resolution Hearings​
 

The Commission on Common Ownership Communities strongly encourages the chairperson of its hearing panels to require witnesses to testify from a designated seat in the room, preferably at the back of the hearing table and directly opposite the hearing panel. The witness should be seated alone so that he or she cannot consult with a party or attorney during their testimony. The panel chairperson should swear in the witness at that location, and if the witness has already been sworn in at the start of the hearing, the panel chair should remind the witness that he or she is under oath.

This policy of witness seating does not apply to a party who is testifying as a witness on his or her own behalf. The party may remain at the seat designated for Complainant or Respondent.

The Commission believes that this policy will remind all parties, witness and observers, of the fact that the hearing panel is acting as a court of law, of the importance of truthful testimony, and of the gravity of the proceedings.