Page 44 - Case Book 2017 - 2020 April 18

granting or refusal of redress. Only a party to a protest exercise of due diligence at the time of the original
hearing can be penalized, and a redress hearing is not a hearing, the fact that the protest committee realises that
protest hearing. its original decision was incorrect on the facts
originally found does not negate that invalidity.
RYA 2002/9
When redress is requested, a protest committee is not RYA 2008/5
entitled to award redress to a boat that is not a party to A protest committee should reopen a hearing, whether
that hearing based on facts outside the scope of the or not requested to do so, if it may have made a mistake,
request. A fresh hearing is required or if there is new evidence not available at the original
hearing. However, it need not do so if there is no
RYA 2006/2 prospect of a changed decision, or when a changed
When there is an improper action of the race committee, decision would not affect the major places when final
a boat is entitled to redress only when she can show a event results are urgently needed.
clear link between that action and her score. If flag X is
removed prematurely, an OCS boat that does not return A party asking for a reopening must offer a good
will be entitled to redress only if she can show that she reason, and the protest committee need not hear from
would have returned had it been displayed for longer. If any other party before deciding whether or not to
she can satisfy the protest committee on this point, reopen. However, when it decides to reopen, its
appropriate redress would take into account the time decision to do so may be open to appeal by another
she would then have taken to return and start. party if an objection to the reopening is made at the
Reinstatement into her finishing position is unlikely to start of the reopened hearing.
be equitable to all boats. Evidence that was clearly relevant to the original
hearing and that was, or should have been, available at
RYA 2008/2 that hearing is not new evidence. However, evidence
The simultaneous display of more than one valid course related to issues not arising until during the original
for a class is an improper action of the race committee, hearing, or evidence or a witness that the protest
which may entitle boats to redress, with any doubt being committee knows had been unsuccessfully sought for the
resolved in favour of the competitor original hearing may be ‘new’.
RYA 2013/1 When a hearing is reopened, there is no limitation on
When one or more competitors are found to have had evidence that may be presented.
their finishing positions adversely affected by an
improper action of the race committee, the scores of RYA 2014/3
Whether evidence is new is only relevant to the decision
those boats should be adjusted even if it is not known to reopen a hearing. When a hearing has been
whether or not other boats might have been affected.
reopened, there is no restriction on the evidence that
may be presented.
Rule 64.3, Decisions: Decisions on Protests
Concerning Class Rules Rule 67, Damages (RYA Prescription)

CASE 19
Interpretation of the term ‘damage’. RYA 1996/8
A protest committee must hear a valid protest, even if
RYA 1992/2 there is no prospect of a boat being penalized.
When a protest committee is not in doubt about the A boat that is seeking redress for having been
meaning of a measurement rule, there is no reason to physically damaged by a boat required to keep clear in
send questions to the relevant authority. an incident before she is racing is advised to protest as
A class measurer is not the authority responsible for well as to ask for redress.
interpreting a class measurement rule when the class
rules state otherwise, but may give evidence to assist a
protest committee to interpret a measurement rule.

Rule 66, Reopening a Hearing
CASE 115
Interpretation of the word ‘new’ as used in rule 66.
RYA 1994/3
A boat that is not a party to a request for redress is not
entitled to request a reopening. She is, however, entitled
to seek redress in her own right when she believes that
the redress given in that other hearing makes her own
finishing position significantly worse.
RYA 2008/3
When a protest committee reopens a hearing to hear
additional evidence, and when this is invalid because
that evidence would have been available with the

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