CASE 22

Rule 61.2(c), Protest Requirements: Protest Contents
Rule 63.5, Hearings: Validity of the Protest or Request for Redress
Rule 64.1(a), Decisions: Penalties and Exoneration

A protest committee’s refusal of a protest cannot be justified by the fact that the rule alleged to have been broken and cited in the protest as required by rule 61.2(c) was not the right one.

Summary of the Facts
After a collision near a mark, S protested P, citing rule 18 on her protest form as required by rule 61.2(c).The protest committee declared the protest invalid and refused to proceed with the hearing, because it said the protest should have cited rule 10 rather than rule 18. Had the hearing gone ahead and the parties been questioned, the protest committee said, the protest might have been upheld. S appealed.

Decision
The appeal is upheld to the extent that the protest is to be reheard.

Rule 64.1(a) states that a disqualification or other penalty shall be imposed whether or not the applicable rule was mentioned in the protest. It is logical that only the protest committee, after ascertaining the facts, should then determine the rules that apply to them. A decision reached by a protest committee depends on the evidence provided by the parties and the witnesses; that the protestor has made a mistake in the rule cited is unimportant.

FIV 4/1967