Members of martial arts disciplinary committee appointed

As of 1 October 2022 the disciplinary committee for the martial arts sector is operational. It consists of eleven independent experts, mainly lawyers, with a passion for martial arts. They want to contribute to a safe sporting environment for everyone.

Until recently, responsibility for disciplinary law rested with the nine individual covenant partners of the VA (Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit, the Dutch martial arts regulator). Sanctions were imposed in the form of order measures. There is now a disciplinary law system that is accepted by all federations and promoters in the Netherlands.

For the disciplinary committee, the VA looked for people with knowledge of law and safety who are also enthusiastic about martial arts. Following a careful procedure, a team has been assembled of people who all practise a martial art themselves (recreationally).

The disciplinary rules developed to protect athletes and others in martial arts can be found here. More about the procedures can be found here.

A case that may need to be dealt with under disciplinary law can be reported by emailing this form to info@vechtsportautoriteit.nl

The members of the disciplinary committee are:

• Casper van Weerd, attorney
• Hind Mechri, legal expert
• Leen van Duijn, Chief Security Officer KLM
• Klaas Arends, legal expert in environmental and planning law (Omgevingsrecht)
• Ruben Laats, legal expert
• Joost Quant, attorney
• Ben Ketelaar, former criminal investigation officer (Politie/RIEC, the police and the Regional Information and Expertise Centre)
• Vanessa Kohn, legal expert
• Jeroen Houffelaar, civil servant in the social care domain
• Joort Visser, lecturer in Law at Hogeschool van Amsterdam (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences)
• Pepijn Le Heux, attorney