Part 5 - Protests, Redress, Hearings, Misconduct and Appeals

(a) A protest committee member shall declare any possible conflict of interest as soon as possible after becoming aware of it.

(b) A party to the hearing who believes a protest committee member has a conflict of interest shall object as soon as possible.

(c) A protest committee member with a conflict of interest shall not be a member of the protest committee for the hearing, unless:

• (1) all parties consent, or
• (2) the protest committee decides that the conflict of interest is not significant.

However, for World Sailing major events, or for other events as prescribed by the national authority of the venue, a person who has a conflict of interest shall not be a member of the protest committee.

(d) When deciding whether a conflict of interest is significant, the protest committee shall consider

• (1) the views of the parties,
• (2) the level of the conflict,
• (3) the level of the event,
• (4) the importance to each party of the case, and
• (5) the overall perception of fairness.

(e) Any written information provided under rule 63.6(b) shall include any conflict of interest declared by a protest committee member, and any decision by the protest committee under rule 63.3(c)(2).

• (1) a protest or request is invalid, or
• (2) a protest was made under rule 60.4(c)(1) and there was no injury or serious damage.

• (1) is also a party, or
• (2) is a member of the protest committee.

(a) The protest committee shall consider the evidence and decide what weight to give it. It shall then find the facts based on the balance of probabilities (unless an applicable rule requires otherwise), and then apply the rules to those facts to make its conclusions and a decision.

(b) Decisions shall be made by simple majority vote. When there is an equal division of votes, the chair of the hearing may cast an additional vote.

(c) If there is a conflict between

• (1) two or more rules that must be resolved before a decision can be made, and
• (2) those rules are in the notice of race, the sailing instructions, or any of the other documents that govern the event under item (g) of the definition Rule,

then the protest committee shall apply the rule that it believes will provide the fairest result for all boats affected.

(d) If the protest committee is in doubt about the meaning of a class rule, it shall refer its questions, together with the relevant facts, to an authority responsible for interpreting the rule. In making its decision, the protest committee is bound by the authority’s reply.

(a) The protest committee may reopen a hearing if it decides

• (1) a party was unavoidably absent from the hearing,
• (2) it may have made a significant error, or
• (3) significant new evidence has become available within a reasonable time.

However, a protest committee shall reopen a hearing when required to do so by the national authority under rule 71.3 or R5.

(b) A party to the hearing may request a reopening by delivering a written request to the race office (or by such other method as stated in the sailing instructions) no later than 24 hours after being informed of the decision. The request shall identify the reason for making it. However, on the last scheduled day of racing the request shall be delivered

• (1) within the protest time limit if the requesting party was informed of the decision on the previous day;
• (2) no later than 30 minutes after the party was informed of the decision on that day. A request that does not comply with this rule is invalid.

(c) The protest committee shall consider all requests to reopen a hearing. When a request to reopen is being considered, or when the hearing is reopened,

• (1) if based only on new evidence, a majority of the members of the protest committee shall, if practicable, be members of the original committee;
• (2) if based on a significant error, the protest committee shall, if practicable, have at least one new member.