than two persons. The President and the Vice President of the Court shall take precedence before all other Members. 2. If the office of the President of the Court falls vacant before the normal date of expiry thereof, the Court shall elect by consensus a successor for the remainder of the term. 3. Failure to reach a consensus the election shall be by secret ballot. If a Judge obtains an absolute majority he shall be elected. If no Judge obtains an absolute majority, a second ballot shall be held and the Judge obtaining the most votes shall be elected. Where two or more Judges obtain an equal number of votes, the oldest serving Judge shall be deemed elected. Article 7 The President is responsible for the administration of the Court; and he presides at hearings and deliberations. Article 8 1. When the President of the Court is absent or prevented from attending or when the office of the President is vacant, the functions of the President shall be exercised by the Vice President according to the order of precedence laid down in Article 5 of these Rules. 2. If the President and Vice President are prevented from attending or their posts are vacant at the same time, the functions of the President and Vice President shall be exercised by one of the other Judges according to the order of precedence laid down in Article 5 of these Rules. CHAPTER III REGISTRY The Chief Registrar and the Registrars Article 9 1. The Court shall appoint the Chief Registrar. Two weeks before the date fixed for making the appointment, the President shall inform the Members of the Court of the applications which have been made for the post. 2. An application shall be accompanied by full details of the candidate's age, Nationality, university degrees, knowledge of any languages, present and past occupations and experience, if any, in judicial and international fields. 3. The Chief Registrar shall be appointed for a term of six years. He may be reappointed for a further term.