Racing Rules of Sailing

Appendix 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.

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.