2013 Manual of Motorcycle Sport - Motorcycling Australia

6 JUDICIAL COMMITTEE GUIDELINESenjoy the ride6 JUDICIAL COMMITTEE GUIDELINES686.1 MA HEARING GUIDELINES6.1.1 Composition of the Committee6.1.1.1 The Judicial Committee is the Nationalappellate tribunal of MA.6.1.1.2 Appointed members of the Committeemust be either:a) A qualified lawyer; orb) A person with appropriately extensiveknowledge of, and experience in thesport.6.1.1.3 The Committee’s President must be aqualified lawyer.6.1.1.4 The Committee sits either as a:a) Panel of up to 3 members chaired bya lawyer; orb) Committee of 1 who must be a lawyer.6.1.1.5 Matters generally come before theCommittee either as:a) Appeals from State appellatetribunals.b) Appeals from protest hearings,conducted by Stewards or juries,where the event is National or is partof a National series; orc) As disputed questions on theinterpretation of the GCRs.6.1.2 Notice of Appeal6.1.2.1 When considering lodging an appeal tothe Committee. it is important to note :a) The Notice of Appeal must be lodgedat the MA office in Melbourne.b) The time limit for the lodging of theNotice is 21 days from the date ofthe written notification of the decisionbeing appealed.c) The Notice must be accompanied bythe prescribed lodging fee.d) There is no particular setting out orstyle required, however, the Noticeshould specify:i) The person or body whosedecision is being challenged;ii) The date and place of thedecision;iii) What the decision was;iv) A short outline (preferably in pointform) of why the decision is saidto be wrong.6.1.2.2 A copy of the Notice of Appeal shouldbe posted to the person or body whosedecision is being challenged.6.1.3 Conduct of Hearings6.1.3.1 Hearings are usually, but not always, heldin Melbourne. Interstate telephone hookupsare used on occasions.6.1.3.2 Hearings are normally conducted on amid-week evening from 7.00 pm. Theyare scheduled, as far as is possible, asthe parties’ request.6.1.3.3 Hearings generally last 2-3 hours.6.1.3.4 Parties to an appeal can present theirown case, may choose to be representedby a lawyer, or they may choose to berepresented by a person who, though nota lawyer, is familiar with their case andwho can explain it to the Committee.6.1.3.5 About one third of appellants have legalrepresentation, another third had nonlegalrepresentation – and the other thirdpresented their case themselves.6.1.3.6 Typically, the parties are notified in writingof the Committee’s decision within 10 to14 days of the hearing.6.1.3.7 Written reasons for the Committee’sdecision accompany the decision itself.Where the Committee sits as a panelit arrives at 1 decision, i.e. it does notproduce a majority decision and adissenting minority decision.6.1.3.8 When a hearing has concluded there canbe no further communication between theparties and the Committee.6.1.3.9 If a party loses an appeal, any request itmay make of the Committee to reconsiderits decision will be ignored.6.1.3.10 Enquiries and requests about thescheduling of hearings should be directedto the MA office (See page 13).