Consideration of records

1. Committee members, when judging a record, may apply the following verdict:

• Accept - record is convincing
• Reject - record is unconvincing or unproven
• Abstain/Pass - e.g. experience level may be a constraint
• Pend - further input is required
• ‘Own Record’ - where a Committee member is involved in the record

2. For a record to be accepted, the Committee as a whole must be convinced that the record is beyond all doubt and will stand the test of time. The following thresholds will be used in applying that principle, with a minimum of at least 9 of the 12 members having voted:

• First record for Africa – Accept threshold must be 100%
• First record for East Africa Region - Accept threshold must be 100%
• First record for a Country - Accept threshold must be 100%
• Second record for a Country - Accept threshold can include 1 Reject or 1 Pend
• Third to Fifth record for a Country – Accept threshold can include 2 Rejects or 2 Pends

3. Where the Pends prevent an Accept decision, the Secretary will endeavour to get extra input as soon as possible and make that information available to the Committee.

Those ‘Pending’ should then decide whether to Accept or Reject the record in order to avoid records being retained in a Pend category. Under the latter circumstances, the observer can be invited to undertake further research and make a fresh submission.