The Supreme Court is duly constituted in any proceedings only if all of the following conditions are met—
the Court consists of an uneven number of judges;
the Court consists of at least three judges;
more than half of those judges are permanent judges.
Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) are subject to any directions that in specified proceedings the Court is to consist of a specified number of judges that is both uneven and greater than three.
Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) is subject to any directions that in specified descriptions of proceedings the Court is to consist of a specified minimum number of judges that is greater than three.
This section is subject to section 43.
In this section—
"directions" means directions given by the President of the Court;
"specified", in relation to directions, means specified in those directions;
references to permanent judges are references to those judges of the Court who are not acting judges under section 38.
This section and section 43 apply to the constitution of the Court in any proceedings from the time judges are designated to hear the proceedings.