Rule 102 Withdrawal of a Member If, for any reason, a Member of the Commission considers that he or she should not take part or continue to take part in the consideration of a Communication, he or she shall inform the Chairperson of his or her decision to withdraw. Rule 103 Preliminary Objection 1. A party who intends to raise a preliminary objection at the stage of admissibility or before the Commission takes a decision on the merits of the Communication, shall do so not latter than thirty (30) days after receiving notification to submit on admissibility or on the merits. The Commission shall communicate the objection to the other party within fifteen (15) days. 2. A party who intends to respond to a preliminary objection raised by the other party shall submit a written response not later than thirty (30) days after the Secretary to the Commission has transmitted the objection to that party. 3. If no response to a preliminary objection is received within the stipulated period, the Commission shall proceed with the consideration of the preliminary objection on the basis of the available information. 4. When the Commission receives a preliminary objection, it shall first of all determine this objection before any other question relating to the Communication. Rule 104 Legal Aid 1. The Commission may, either at the request of the author of the communication or at its own initiative, facilitate access to free legal aid to the author in connection with the representation of the case; 2. Free legal aid shall only be facilitated where the Commission is convinced: a) That it is essential for the proper discharge of the Commission's duties, and to ensure equality of the parties before it; and b) The author of the Communication has no sufficient means to meet all or part of the costs involved. 3. In case of urgency or when the Commission is not in session, its Chairperson may exercise the powers conferred on the Commission by this Rule. As soon as the Commission is in session, any action that has been taken under this paragraph shall be brought to its attention for confirmation. Rule 105 Submissions of Observations 1. When the Commission has decided to be seized of a Communication pursuant to the present Rules, it shall promptly transmit a copy of the complaint to the Respondent State. It shall simultaneously inform the Complainant of the decision on seizure, and request the Complainant to present evidence and arguments on admissibility within two months. 2. Upon receipt of the Complainant's observations on admissibility, the Secretary shall transmit a copy to the respondent state and request the latter to make a written submission, containing its arguments and evidence on admissibility, within two months of its receipt of the Commission's request. The Secretariat shall, within a week of receipt of the state's submission, provide the Complainant with a copy. 3. Upon receiving the observations of the Respondent State on Admissibility, the Complainant may comment on the observations within one month of receipt. 4. In conformity with Rule 88(6), the Commission, while determining Admissibility may ask the parties to present supplementary observations in an oral hearing. Rule 106 Admissibility of Communications The Communications shall comply with the requirements of Admissibility under Article 56 of the Charter which are cumulative. Rule 107 Decision on Admissibility 1. Once it has considered the positions of the parties, the Commission shall make a decision on the admissibility of the Communication and the Secretary shall inform the parties accordingly. 2. Once a Communication has been declared admissible, the Commission shall inform the parties and defer the Communication to the next session for consideration on the merit. 3. The Commission's decisions on the inadmissibility of Communications shall be notified to the parties and attached to its Activity Report. 4. If the Commission has declared a Communication inadmissible this decision may be reviewed at a later date, upon the submission of new evidence, contained in a written request to the Commission by the author. 20