Following a complete review of UK motor sport's judicial system, September's Motor Sports Council approved the wording of the revised regulations to come into force on 1 January 2005.
Among the key points covered by the new regulations are:
The National Court, appointed by the Motor Sports Council, will become the final tier of Appeal in all cases.The Stewards of the Royal Automobile Club will be invited to sit on the National Court, and there will not be any additional level of appeal beyond the National Court in order to avoid uncertainty and delay.The MSC National Court will exercise the functions of Disciplinary Tribunal, Investigatory Tribunal, Eligibility Appeal panel. The MSA will appoint a 'Disciplinary Officer' to advise on disciplinary action in the respect of any breach of the regulations.In an attempt to have more issues settled on the day of an event, the only grounds for lodging an appeal against the Stewards of the Meeting will be that a gross miscarriage of justice has occurred or that the penalty imposed is wholly inappropriate to the breach of regulations.And to speed up the appeals process, the National Court will decide within ten days if an appeal meets either of these criteria and if so will arrange for the National Court to be convened.There will be no right of appeal to the National Court for third parties not involved in the original incident.
The review was led by solicitor and F1 Steward Tony Scott-Andrews, Chairman of the MSA's Judicial Advisory Panel.
"It has been a very interesting task," says Scott-Andrews. "There is no doubt that the previous system was not perfect, but in re-working it we have to ensure we are absolutely water-tight legally. I must thank everyone that has contributed to the review and the re-drafting."
"I am delighted that the judicial review has been conducted so efficiently and I am grateful to Tony Scott-Andrews and his team for their efforts," confirms Colin Hilton, Chief Executive of the MSA. "In many areas this is a radical overhaul, but we now have a much more effective system which should make a big contribution to improving UK motor sport for participants, spectators and officials."
