The extent and level of judging services that an organizer should provide to competitors depend on the type of event. Services range from a protest committee of knowledgeable club members at a sailing club appointed by the local race committee or club, to a non-appealable international jury at high-profile events appointed or approved by World Sailing. In most cases, the judge with the most experience, often a National or International Judge, is asked to chair the protest committee and accept the responsibility to ensure that the rules and procedures are followed.

A conflict of interest exists when a World Sailing Race Official has, or reasonably appears to have, a personal or financial interest which could affect the official’s ability to be impartial. Before accepting an invitation to an event, each judge must consult the “Guidelines for Assessing a Conflict of Interest for Race Officials” as published on the World Sailing website and act in accordance with these guidelines. (Search “conflict of interest”, click submit, and select “Documents”).

That may include declining the invitation.

Rule 63.3(c) does not permit a person with a conflict of interest to be a member of a protest committee at World Sailing major events or at other events as prescribed by the national authority of the venue. In addition, a World Sailing Race Official who is aware of a conflict of interest must decline an invitation to serve at an event at which an international jury is appointed.

During the event rule 63.3 guides judges to determine whether they might have a conflict of interest related to a protest or request for redress, and to declare it as soon as they are aware of it.

Usually, the organizing authority appoints the members of the protest committee.In events such as a world championship, this decision is often made between the organizing authority and the class association. The only exceptions occur at specific events for which World Sailing is responsible for appointing the protest committee such as the Olympic Games. While the protest committee chair may be asked to send out the invitations to recruit members of the protest committee, the invitations are sent on behalf of the organizing authority or race committee.

When making up the protest committee, consider the type of boats and kind of racing. At least one of the members of the protest committee should be fully conversant with the boats being sailed, and the rules and traditions of the class or type of event. The protest committee at a windsurfing event will face different questions than at a one-design world championship or an offshore race.

It is useful where possible, to include one member who also has an intimate knowledge of the local conditions.

At an open event in which sailors come from other clubs, it is desirable that the organizing authority appoint a protest committee, usually with three members who are independent of the race committee. To avoid an appearance of favoritism, prejudice or conflict of interest, this protest committee could be made up of members from different clubs. To ensure a higher level of experience and knowledge, many national authorities have a program to train and certify individuals as National Judges. Some national authorities require that at national events the membership of a protest committee includes a majority of National Judges.

If Appendix P is used for on-the-water judging of rule 42 Propulsion, the majority of the protest committee members should be experienced in this specialist type of judging. This is especially important when observers who are not trained judges are appointed in this role.

In the case of an international jury, there is often room for one or two experienced National Judges who would benefit from the experience. The protest committee chair may delegate to a member the task of assisting them in developing the necessary skills on their path to become an International Judge.

The rules give parties the right to appeal a protest committee’s decisions or its procedures. However, the rules also set out conditions under which the right of appeal may be denied. Most frequently, this is done through the appointment of an international jury that conforms with Appendix N. In addition, rule 70.3 makes three other provisions for permitting the denial of appeals. In these three cases, care must be taken to obtain the necessary permissions and in the selection of the members of the protest committee to comply with all requirements of the rule.

Some of the guidance provided for international juries is also useful to protest committees that have been granted the status of no appeals.

The two key persons to the success of an international jury are the chair and vicechair. In order that the protest committee be seen as independent, it is best that the chair is well known and respected by the competitors, and preferably not of the same nationality as the country in which the event is taking place. The “local” vicechair is then given the responsibility and authority for pre-event administrative and organizational duties.

The “local” judge, who is often known to event organizers, is often asked to help organize the protest committee. At this point the “local” judge should explain how the protest committee will be more easily seen as independent if a non-national is the chair and the local judge is the vice-chair. The local judge could offer to help recruit a qualified judge from a different National Authority to act as chair, then with the chair, recruit the remaining members of the protest committee.

Appendix N states the requirements for an international jury to be properly constituted. The MNA Groups are shown in the World Sailing Constitution. A protest committee member’s nationality does not create a significant conflict of interest (rule N3.1).

Since a protest committee constituted as an international jury is independent of the race committee and technical committee, no member of the protest committee may also be a member of the race committee or technical committee.

When a full international jury or panel is reduced to three or four members because of illness or emergency, the organizing authority is required to make a diligent attempt to find a qualified replacement (rule N1.5).

Some national authorities under their prescriptions require approval for the appointment of an international jury. When approval is required, the organizing authority is usually required to submit details of the event with the names of the proposed chairman and members of the jury.

RRS N1.8 requires that when the national authority prescribes that its approval is required for the appointment of an International Jury (see RRS 91(b)), notice of its approval shall be included in the Sailing Instructions or be posted on the official notice board.

In limited circumstances under rule N1.7, World Sailing may authorize an international jury of only three persons, all of whom are international judges, from three different national authorities (two, in Groups M, N and Q). Application is made to World Sailing.

The main duty of the appointed protest committee or international jury is to conduct hearings for protests, requests for redress, reports regarding support persons, and to write allegations and hold hearings under rule 69. Its responsibilities may be extended to include on-the-water judging of rule 42 and monitoring rule compliance. When requested, the protest committee will provide advice to the race committee or the organizing authority and help to resolve problems that occur at events.

The main duties of an international jury are the same as for a protest committee. However, in practice, the higher the event level the more pressure on the judges, organizers, and competitors. Since there is no right of appeal from a protest committee formed by an international jury, the reputation of sailing rests upon the event’s international jury making correct and fair decisions.

When asked by the organizing authority or race committee, an international jury has the responsibility to advise and assist them on any matter directly affecting the fairness of the competition. At these events the international jury may be asked to decide questions of eligibility, measurement, boat certificates, and to authorize the substitution of competitors, boats, sails and equipment (see rule N2). Members of the international jury need to be familiar with the requirements in Appendix N.

Decisions of the protest committee are by a simple majority vote of all members. Where there is an equal division of votes cast, the chair may cast an additional vote.

The requirements for a panel of fewer than five members to hold a hearing are outlined in rule N1.4(b). The panel requires three judges from different MNAs, two of whom must be International Judges. Parties must be told that you are a panel of the international jury appointed under the provisions of rule N1.4(b). 

If a party is dissatisfied with the decision of a panel, except concerning the facts found, they are entitled to a hearing with a full international jury. The request may be made orally or in writing. The Chair would appoint the five-member international jury from among the members. All parties may attend and bring evidence to the hearing.

In practice, this means that the international jury will review the procedures used in the original hearing. They will then focus on whether the conclusion and decision match the facts. This new hearing is not a reopening under rule 66. If the international jury decides that the panel might have made an error, they may decide to reopen the hearing.

Appendix N outlines the requirements for international juries. Appendix M, which is advisory only, gives recommendations on how to conduct hearings. Even though neither requires all members of a protest committee to be physically present at hearings, this should be the normal situation. However, in some exceptional cases, the protest committee may still act adopting a remote hearing procedure, without having all the members physically together.

For example, it would make sense to proceed without the physical presence of one or all the members in the following situations:

RRS 63.3 grants a party the right to be present throughout the hearing. It also
permits the protest committee to proceed with the hearing if a party does not attend.

Best practice is to have all the parties and witnesses physically present during a hearing. However, there are some exceptional cases where the protest committee could offer them to attend the hearing by adopting a remote hearing procedure. Some examples are similar to those for off-site protest committees. In general, if the protest committee decides that its members can be present through a remote system, they could allow the same for parties and witnesses.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 resulted in many more protest committees making use of video conferencing technology for hearings. We anticipate more developments as technology progresses, especially with advances in business meeting and education applications. What follows are some lessons learned. Since this is an evolving process, updates and improved systems will continue to be developed.

Remote hearings should be conducted with video conference systems and simultaneously transmitted to all the persons involved in the hearing. A video conference system is a program, protocol or device that uses the internet to transmit multimedia streams that include at least voice and video of the persons involved. Other streams may be included, like a video feed of the protest room table or a virtual whiteboard.

It is essential to have a strong broadband connection to make remote hearings work. This may require some pre-event assistance from the organizers. It is best if the protest committee has access to a strong WIFI network that is not shared broadly. It is the responsibility of parties and witnesses to have a strong internet connection available. A party or a witness using internet while driving in a car usually results in intermittent coverage at best.

It is easy to imagine a future when more hearings might be done over the internet with parties and judges in many different places. If present, the on-site protest committee member has a major role in setting this up. The following is a non-exhaustive checklist of the additional duties:

a) Preparation of the hearing is a key component to making this system work. It will take more time than an in-person hearing.
b) For hearings occurring during an event, pre-arrange a default time for hearings when you expect off-site persons to be available. Consider the time zones for all persons involved;
c) Send copies of the hearing request form and other documentation to the offsite protest committee members and parties;
d) If the parties will use video evidence, try to get copies in advance to forward to the off-site protest committee members and parties;
e) Make sure that all the parties and witnesses are alone in the room, without communicating with others;
f) Make use of the waiting room function of the video conference platform to move witnesses in and out of the hearing and not listening to other evidence. 
g) Make sure everyone, both at the hearing and off-site, understands the procedures.

In some situations, a video conference remote hearing might not be possible, for example, during oceanic races. Only in this case should remote hearings be processed through emails. This process should be specified in the notice of race or sailing instructions as detailed in the chapter of this Manual, Judging Oceanic and Offshore Races.