Section 3 Closure of the preparatory inquiry Article 50 1. Unless the Court prescribes a period within which the parties may lodge written observations, the President shall fix the date for the opening of the oral procedure after the preparatory inquiry has been completed. 2. Where a period had been prescribed for the lodging of written observations, the President shall fix the date for the opening of the oral procedure after that period has expired. Section 4: Preparatory Measures Article 51 The Court may request the parties to submit within a specified period all such information relating to the facts, and all such documents or other Particulars, as they may consider relevant. The information and/or documents provided shall be communicated to the other parties. CHAPTER III ORAL PROCEDURE Article 52 1. Subject to the priority of decisions provided for in these Rules, the Court shall deal with the cases before it in the order in which the preparatory inquiries in them have been completed. Where the preparatory inquiries in several cases are completed simultaneously, the order in which they are to be dealt with shall be determined by the dates of entry in the register of the applications initiating them respectively. 2. The President may in special circumstances order that a case be given priority over others. The President may in special circumstances, after hearing the parties, either on his own initiative or at the request of one of the parties, defer a case to be dealt with at a later date. On a joint application by the parties the President may order that a case be deferred. Article 53 1. The proceedings shall be opened and directed by the President, who shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the hearing. 2. The oral proceedings in cases heard in camera shall not be published. Article 54 1. The President may in the course of the hearing put questions to the agents, advisers or lawyers of the parties.