Canon 1292

1. If the tribunal is collegiate, the presiding judge of the

college is to determine on what day and at what hour the judges

are to convene for their deliberation; and the meeting is to be

held at the tribunal unless a special reason suggests otherwise;

only the college of judges can be present. 2. On the day assigned for the meeting, the judges shall individually and without

indicating their names submit in writing their conclusions on the

merits of the case and the reasons, both in law and in fact, for

arriving at these conclusions, which are to be appended to the

acts of the case with a notation of their authenticity signed by

all the judges, and are to be kept secret with due regard for 4.

3. The conclusions of the individual judge are to be made known

in the order of precedence, but beginning always with the ponens

or the relator of the case, and there is to be a discussion under

the leadership of the presiding judge, especially in order to decide what is to be determined in the dispositive part of the sentence. 4. In the discussion, however, each judge has the right

to retract his or her original conclusions; on the other hand, a

judge who does not wish to accede to the decision of the others,

can demand that his or her conclusions be transmitted to the

higher tribunal if there is an appeal. 5. But if the judges

are unwilling or unable to arrive at a sentence in the first discussion, the decision can be deferred to another meeting but not

beyond one week unless the instruction of the case must be completed in accordance with the norm of can. 1283.