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20th Mar 2024 10:49 GMT
Release 2.19q
Appeals Procedure
Appeals

This section is quoted from ‘Calling the Director’, a publication which has been issued to all members, and is displayed on the club’s notice board.

  • If you disagree with a ruling, or want more information, please wait until the end of the session and then ask the Director, or lodge an appeal. Please do not make a scene at the table, or upset the other players, including the Director.
  • If you wish to appeal, just tell the Director calmly and politely. He or she may consult fellow directors to ascertain whether a ruling can be offered.  More often than not, you will get a decision immediately, but sometimes, it will be necessary to carry out research. In such circumstances, you will be informed, and given an estimate of when the outcome will be known.
  • The Club also has a formal Appeals Procedure, which may be used if the directors feel unable to give a ruling, or by you if you should be unhappy with any ruling which is made. The entire matter will be handled from then on by the Appeals Chairman, who will arrange a panel of suitable club members (not including the regular directors) to make a ruling on the matter.
  • Exceptionally, the matter will be referred to the EBU, whose decision will be final.

This formal Appeals Procedure may be invoked by any member of the Club who, having played the hand(s) when the ruling occurred, is dissatisfied with the ruling of the Director of the session. This procedure may also be invoked by the Director(s) of the session. Please note that if the event was for pairs, both players in the partnership must agree to the appeal being made; and in a teams event, the team captain must be in agreement.

Laws 92 and 93 (The Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2017) apply in all cases, and at every stage.

Procedure

  1. Notice of the intention to appeal must be lodged as quickly as possible after the session in which the disputed ruling occurred. This will normally be by the end of the session or the clearing-up period. (The Laws suggest that the appeal should be lodged within 30 minutes of the scores being published). NB If the appeal may affect the result of the competition/session, the results will not be posted, or will be removed if they have been posted, nor P2P files uploaded, until the outcome of the appeal is known.
  2. Appeals which are not lodged within the time-scale outlined above may be ruled ‘out of time’ by the Appeals Chairman. ‘Out of time’ appeals will not be heard. Exceptionally, a late appeal may be accepted for sufficient cause, at the absolute discretion of the Appeals Chairman. Examples of ‘sufficient cause’ include the absence of the Appeals Chairman or the Club Chairman from the session.
  3. Notice of appeal is lodged by the appellants informing either the Chairman of the Club or the Appeals Chairman directly.
  4. The Appeals Chairman will acknowledge receipt of the appeal as soon as reasonably practicable.
  5. The Appeals Chairman will gather information about what happened from the appellants, their opponents, and the Director(s), and any other source the Appeals Chairman, in his absolute discretion, sees fit. This may include holding a poll of other club members.
  6. The Appeals Chairman will, at his convenience, but as soon as practical, convene a panel of no less than 3 members of the Club, including himself, who, in his opinion, have the qualities necessary to make a judgement on the matter.
  7. The Appeals Chairman will have the discretion to invite the appellants, the Director, and any other witnesses to attend a hearing, if in his opinion, the matter warrants it. However, this is not mandatory.
  8. The Appeals Chairman, having reached a judgement, will communicate it to all interested parties within 24 hours of having determined it. If email is not possible, First Class post will be used. A copy will also be displayed on the Club Notice Board.
  9. It is hoped that this procedure will satisfy all parties. There is no further avenue of appeal within the club. All members have the right to approach the Gloucestershire County Bridge Association, or the EBU at any stage, and they are the final arbiters in all matters of play.