Disciplinary committee for martial arts: how does it work in practice?

Since late 2022, Dutch martial arts have had an independent disciplinary committee (tuchtcommissie). This should contribute to a safer sporting environment for everyone. But how does it work in practice?

If you want to organise a sport safely, you have to make agreements with one another. How do we expect people to behave? And what do we do if someone crosses the line? For this purpose, among other things, the General rules of conduct for martial arts have been drawn up. You have to agree to these when you apply for a Fightpassport or a Keurmerk Vechtsportautoriteit (the VA quality mark for gyms), or for a licence as a promoter or matchmaker. Do you break the rules? Then the disciplinary committee can impose a measure.

The start of the procedure
The disciplinary committee can take action when someone submits a report. Anyone with an interest in martial arts can do so: athletes, officials, promoters, but also spectators. When a report is received, the committee first assesses whether the report actually belongs with the disciplinary committee. If that is the case, the report is declared "admissible". The committee will then handle the report.

There may also be reasons not to handle a report. The disciplinary committee may consider an accusation too minor. If someone has been called a "bastard" on one occasion, that will not lead to a case. If the report concerns an incident during a bout, it does not fall under the disciplinary rules but under the rules of the sport. That is a matter for the officials. They can suspend someone for unsportsmanlike conduct. The disciplinary committee does not need to become involved in that. Such a report is declared "inadmissible".

Charge and defence
If the report is declared admissible, the prosecutor (aanklager) opens an investigation. A letter is sent to the person who is accused. It states which rules are alleged to have been broken, and includes an invitation to explain the incident, also known as presenting a "defence" or being heard in response (wederhoor).

"In practice, so far the cases have mainly concerned misconduct by athletes or officials outside the ring," says Hind Mechri, coordinator and secretary of the disciplinary committee. "We see competitive fighters who want to settle a quarrel among the audience at an event, or who come to blows on a night out. They give martial arts a bad name. On their social media they present themselves as athletes, but they also share clips of their street violence. That conflicts with the rules of conduct they committed to when they signed up for the Fightpassport. That can have consequences. Usually we are then talking about a suspension of several months, partly conditional, partly unconditional."

So everyone who faces a charge is given the opportunity to defend themselves. Witnesses and evidence can be submitted, such as video footage of the incident. "In most cases people make use of this," Mechri says. "People want to express regret, provide more context for the events, or bring forward witnesses who in their view give a more complete picture. There are also people who do not respond at all. That does of course influence the eventual decision."

Handling the case
That eventual decision is reached by three of the thirteen members of the disciplinary committee. They are all martial arts enthusiasts, usually with a legal background. One of them is Joost Quant, a lawyer with thirty years of professional experience. He has been involved in several cases. "We look at the accusation, the grounds for it, the evidence submitted and witness statements, and we hear the accused person themselves, if they turn up. We take that defence very seriously. We are independent in the sense that we are not out to convict. We are out for a fair assessment of the facts in relation to the rules."

"In doing so, we have to weigh up a number of circumstances. What was the impact on any victims? Is there genuine remorse? Are there mitigating or aggravating circumstances? How high is the risk of repetition? If, for example, an offender has already apologised to the victim and compensated the damage, we will reach a milder decision than if someone does not respond at all to the victim or to the disciplinary committee. Not because we would be offended, but because this shows a lack of insight into the impact of your actions. The risk of repetition is then greater, and a firmer exclusion may be appropriate."

Decision
Once the disciplinary committee has heard everyone and weighed up all the information, it reaches a decision. So far, unconditional suspensions have been imposed, but also conditional suspensions. "We want to give people the chance to improve their behaviour," Quant says. "For example, we had a fight between two competitive fighters among the audience at an event. Both said they regretted it. In such a case we think it is useful for them to talk out their quarrel in the presence of their trainers, with a conditional suspension as a deterrent. That probably reduces the risk of repetition better than an unconditional suspension without a proper conversation."

Option to appeal
If someone does not agree with the decision of the disciplinary committee, an objection can be lodged. The case, together with the arguments of the person lodging the objection, is then put before an appeals committee consisting of three other members of the disciplinary committee. They reconsider the case, the initial assessment by the disciplinary committee and the objections raised against it. They can uphold or amend the decision.

Publication
After a decision has been reached, it is published in anonymised form on the VA website. This is done to give the martial arts sector insight into the kinds of cases that are brought forward, and how they are dealt with. Anonymisation takes place because the privacy interests of all those involved have to be taken into account.

So far, thirteen reports of a possible case for the disciplinary committee have been submitted. Seven of these reports were declared admissible. An appeal was lodged against one decision, and in that case a new decision was issued. More information about the disciplinary committee and an overview of all decisions can be found here. A case that may need to be handled by the disciplinary committee can be reported using this incident report form.

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