Jury Regulations of the Heran Violoncello Competition (hereinafter referred to as the Competition) are made out by the Organization Committee of the Competition and are a supplement to the Statute.
Rules contained in the Statute of the Competition (Ar. III., par. 1-5) and in the Jury Regulation are binding for all members of the jury.
Any member of the jury who fails to observe the conditions of the Statute or Jury Regulations may be dismissed by the Chairman with approval of the Chairman of the Organization Committee. If the Chairman of the jury himself/herself is guilty of such a breach, he/she may be dismissed on account of the Statute (Ar. III., par. 2)
Article II. Jury Activities
The discussions held by the jury are directed by its Chairman or in his (or her) absence by the Vice Chairman. The Chairman will determine the programme of the jury discussions and the agenda of the Competition in accordance with the Statute and Organization of the Competition.
At its first meeting the jury will elect a Vice Chairman from its members on recommendation of the Chairman by absolute majority of votes. The name of the Vice Chairman must be made public before the start of the Competition.
The executive of the jury is the Secretariat of the Jury with its Secretary, appointed by the Organization Committee under the conditions as stated in the Statute of the Competition, Ar. II., par. 6.
The jury will hear, judge and evaluate the performance of all candidates admitted to the Competition to the extent as stipulated by the Organization Rules of the Competition. The jury will not interrupt the individual Competition performance. The Chairman of the jury can interrupt the performance if the time limit stipulated in the Organization Rules is excessively exceeded or if the artistic level of the performance is insufficient. The agreement of all jurors must be unanimous.
The members of the jury are obliged to attend all meetings. The jury proceedings are kept private. All those present members of the jury, the secretary and other members of the Secretariat are obliged to treat all deliberations of the jury as confidential.
The Competition secretary will take minutes from the meetings, to be approved by the Chairman or Vice Chairman of the jury.
Article III. Evaluation of Competition Performances
Members of the jury have the right of voting and points awarding. Having been members of the jury they are obliged to judge the Competition performances to the best of their conscience, of their professional ability and of their sense for objectivity.
Each competition performance will be judged in writing on a points card, making a selection from 1 point (the lowest evaluation) to 25 points (the highest evaluation). Division of points is prohibited. Each points card must have the following data:
number of the candidate and his category
number of points
signature of the juror
Point cards which are not fully completed or illegible will be excluded. Correction of the evaluating points can be made before the points card is surrendered, the word "correction" must be added.
Members of the jury are obliged to refrain from judging the candidate in the following cases:
whose performance was not heard in full
who he (or she) is teaching
to whom he (or she) is related (daughter, son, granddaughter, grandson)
In these cases he (or she) will submit the points card stating his (or her) reason for not entering any points (absence, pupil, relative).
Members of the jury will submit the points cards after the end of each completed part of the competition performances. Its range and form is decided by the Chairman of the Jury with the agreement of other members before the start of the round. The points awarded in individual rounds to a candidate from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th categories are not added together.
At its first meeting the jury decides by casting votes whether the list of points is to be made public. In this case the decision must be made unanimous.
After the results of points acquired during the 1st round have been concluded, the jury decides by casting votes, whereby the principle of absolute majority prevails, which candidates have qualified for the 2nd round. The names of candidates entering the 2nd round will be published in order given by lot numbers drawn before the competition performances.
After the results of points in each category have been concluded, the jury decides whether the 1st prize will be awarded. The decision must be made with a two-thirds majority of votes at least (minimally 4 jurors have to agree). Only one 1st prize may be awarded, other awards may be divided among more candidates. The jury makes the decision of the 2nd and 3rd prizes and Honourable Mentions of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade on the basis of the points acquired, whereby the principle of absolute majority prevails. If the performances of the candidates fail to reach the required standard, the jury is at liberty not to award all of the prizes. The results will be published after the closing meeting of the jury has ended.
In controversial cases, where the results of the points fail to provide a clear picture of the opinion of the jury as a whole, the Chairman of the jury may initiate discussions and make a decision about the order of candidates on the basis of votes cast by members of the jury, whereby the principle of absolute majority prevails.
At the final meeting the jury decides, on the basis of the highest point evaluation in all categories and after the following discussion, which candidate will be awarded the title of "Laureate of the Heran Violoncello Competition". The title cannot be divided.
The decisions of the jury are final and nobody can appeal against them.
Article IV. Closing Regulations
These Jury Regulations have been set out by the Organization Committee for an indefinite period. Any changes of this Jury Regulations can be made only in writing at the time between competitions.
These Jury Regulations have been set out in Czech and English. In the event of any disputes the Czech version will be considered as the authentic text.
