111. Some delegations, noting the quasi-judicial nature of an optional protocol, pointed out the need for Committee members to have legal expertise. Other delegations, taking into account the composition of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, stressed the usefulness of having Committee members who were not lawyers, so that the combination of legal and non-legal expertise could result in just and fair decisions. General points 112. The addition of an element to cover the Committee’s rules of procedure under the optional protocol was proposed. 113. It was noted that a number of elements proposed for inclusion in the optional protocol reflected the current practice of human rights bodies. Doubts were expressed about whether they needed to be included in an optional protocol, or should be left to the Committee to elaborate upon in its rules of procedure. The development of a rigid instrument should be avoided. -123-