Racing Rules of Sailing

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Part 5 - Protests, Redress, Hearings, Misconduct and Appeals: Section B - HEARINGS AND MAKING DECISIONS | Protest Room

63.1: Rights of Parties

(a) All parties to a hearing shall be
- (1) informed of the time and place of the hearing,
- (2) given access to the protest, request for redress, or report to be considered at the hearing,
- (3) allowed reasonable time to prepare for the hearing, and
- (4) allowed to have a representative present throughout the hearing of the evidence but, in a protest involving a breach of a rule of Part 2, 3 or 4, representatives of boats shall have been on board at the time of the incident unless there is good reason for the protest committee to decide otherwise.
(b) If a party does not come to a hearing, the protest committee may proceed with the hearing in their absence.

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63.2: Hearings

(a) The protest committee shall hear each protest or request delivered unless it allows it to be withdrawn.
(b) The protest committee may combine hearings which arise from the same or very closely connected incidents into one hearing. However, a hearing under rule 69 shall not be combined with any other type of hearing.
(c) If the validity requirements are met, the protest committee may change the type of case if it is appropriate to do so having considered the information in the case, including any evidence given during a hearing.
(d) If the protest committee decides to protest a boat under rule 60.4(c)(2), it shall close the current hearing, deliver a protest in accordance with the rules, and then hear the original and new protests together.
(e) A hearing involving parties in different events conducted by different organizing authorities shall be heard by a protest committee acceptable to those authorities.

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63.3: Conflict of Interest

(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).

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63.4: Hearing Procedure

(a) The protest committee shall first consider validity. The hearing shall be closed if
- (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.
(b) The protest committee shall take the evidence of the parties present at the hearing, their witnesses, and any other evidence it considers necessary. Hearsay evidence is admissible. However, the protest committee may exclude evidence which is irrelevant or unduly repetitive.
(c) A party present at the hearing may question any person who gives evidence.
(d) A member of the protest committee who saw the incident shall, as soon as reasonably possible, declare this fact to the parties attending the hearing.
(e) A witness shall be excluded from the hearing when not giving evidence, except for a witness who:
- (1) is also a party, or
- (2) is a member of the protest committee.

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63.5: Decisions

(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.

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63.6: Informing the Parties and Others

(a) The protest committee shall promptly inform the parties to the hearing of the facts found, the applicable rules, the decision, the reasons for it, any penalties imposed, and any redress given.
(b) If requested by a party in writing within seven days of being informed of the decision, the above information shall be provided promptly in writing and the protest committee may, if it considers it relevant to do so, prepare or endorse a diagram.
(c) The protest committee may publish the above information after any hearing, including a hearing under rule 69, unless it decides there is good reason not to do so.
(d) The protest committee may direct that the above information is to be confidential to the parties.
(e) If the protest committee penalizes a boat under a class rule, it shall send the above information to the relevant class rule authorities.

63.7: Reopening a Hearing

(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.

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

Section B - HEARINGS AND MAKING DECISIONS

63: CONDUCT OF HEARINGS

64: DISCRETIONARY PENALTIES

65: LEGAL LIABILITY AND COSTS