Rule M2: BEFORE THE HEARING

Section M — Recommendations For Protest Committees

This appendix is advisory only; in some circumstances changing these procedures may be advisable. It is addressed primarily to the protest committee chair but may also help judges, protest committee secretaries, race committees and others involved in hearings.

In a hearing, the protest committee should weigh all testimony with equal care; should recognize that honest testimony can vary, and even be in conflict, as a result of different observations and recollections; should resolve such differences as best it can; should recognize that no boat or competitor is guilty until a breach of a rule has been established to the satisfaction of the protest committee; and should keep an open mind until all the evidence has been heard as to whether a boat or competitor has broken a rule.

BEFORE THE HEARING

M2.1: Make sure that

(a) each party has the opportunity to read the protest, request for redress or allegation and has had reasonable time to prepare for the hearing (rules 63.1(a)(2) and 63.1(a)(3)).
(b) only one person from each party is present unless an interpreter is needed (rule 63.1(a)(4)).
(c) all boats and people involved are represented. If they are not, however, the committee may proceed under rule 63.1(b).
(d) boats’ representatives were on board when required (rule 63.1(a)(4)).
(e) when the parties were in different events, both organizing authorities accept the composition of the protest committee (rule 63.2(e)).
(f) in a protest concerning class rules, obtain the current class rules and identify the authority responsible for interpreting them (rule 63.5(d)).

M2.2:

Determine if any members of the protest committee saw the incident. If so, require each of them to state that fact as soon as possible at the hearing (rule 63.4(d)).

M2.3: Assess conflicts of interest

(a) Ensure that all protest committee members declare any possible conflicts of interest. At major events this will often be a formal written declaration made before the event starts that will be kept with the protest committee records.
(b) At the start of any hearing, ensure that the parties are aware of any conflicts of interest of protest committee members. Ask the parties if they consent to the members. If a party does not object as soon as possible after a conflict of interest has been declared, the protest committee may take this as consent to proceed and should record it.
(c) If a party objects to a member, the remainder of the protest committee members need to assess whether the conflict of interest is significant. The assessment will consider the level of the event, the level of the conflict and the perception of fairness. It may be acceptable to balance conflicts between protest committee members. Guidance may be found on the World Sailing website. Record the decision and the grounds for that decision.
(d) In cases of doubt it may be preferable to proceed with a smaller protest committee. Except for hearings under rule 69, there is no minimum number of protest committee members required.
(e) When a request for redress is made under rule 61.4(b)(1) and is based on an improper action or improper omission of a body other than the protest committee, a member of that body should not be a member of the protest committee.

Definitions in Context

Committee

The protest committee, the race committee or the technical committee.

Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest exists if a person

(a) may gain or lose as a result of a decision to which that person contributes,
(b) may reasonably appear to have a personal or financial interest which could affect that person’s ability to be impartial, or
(c) has a close personal interest in a decision.

Party

A party to a hearing is

(a) for a protest hearing: a protestor, a protestee;
(b) for a redress hearing: a boat requesting redress or for which redress is requested; a boat for which a hearing is called to consider redress under rule 61.1; a committee acting under rule 61.1;
(c) for a redress hearing under rule 61.4(b)(1): the body alleged to have made an improper action or improper omission;
(d) a person against whom an allegation of a breach of rule 69.1(a) is made; a person presenting an allegation under rule 69.2(e)(1);
(e) a support person subject to a hearing under rule 62 or 69; any boat that person supports; a person appointed to present an allegation under rule 62.2.

However, the protest committee is never a party.

Protest

An allegation made under rule 60 by a boat or a committee that a boat has broken a rule.