merits is made upon presentation by a referendary, meaning that the referendary prepares the case and is partly responsible for the outcome of the case. Apart from documentary evidence and applicable legislation, the sources of law on which the decision of the Supreme Court may be based include case law, the legislative history of Acts of Parliament, textbooks and international conventions. If a question of law to be resolved involves significant principles or if the Supreme Court wishes to depart from an earlier precedent, the case shall be decided on by a grand chamber (11 members) or by a full court (all the members). Administrative matters, including the appointment of judges, shall be decided on by a full court. Referendaries of the Supreme Court prepare cases for the Court and present them in the hearing. The referendaries are also mainly responsible for contacting the parties to the case and for the administrative work relating to hearings, as well as for sending court documents to the parties. The referendaries are to a certain extent specialised in different areas of law. The Supreme Court mainly relies on written evidence when deciding on a case. The Court may, however, hold oral hearings in which the parties, witnesses and experts are heard in person. The oral hearings are public. The Supreme Court may also decide to arrange an on-site inspection, for example, of a place which is the subject matter of the court proceedings. Leave to appeal When the requirement of leave to appeal was introduced at the beginning of 1980, the position of the Supreme Court as the court changed considerably. The earlier system of appeal with a hierarchy of three court instances was replaced by a system with two instances: a decision of a court of first instance may usually be appealed against to one superior court. Thereby the courts of appeal are the highest instance for most court proceedings, whereas the role of the Supreme Court clearly is that of creating precedents. Leave to appeal is also required for appeal against decisions of specialised courts. Grounds for leave to appeal The preconditions to the granting of leave to appeal are as provided in Chapter 30, section 3 (1) of the Code of Judicial Procedure, under which the Supreme Court may only grant leave to appeal on the following grounds: a decision of the Supreme Court is necessary for the application of