Sanctions and Appeals

Chain of appeals at events

1. Armoured combat marshals may only accept appeals with regards to armoured combat. In the event that a Group Armoured Combat Marshal is not an authorised armoured combat marshal, they may not hear an appeal.
2. Any individual wishing to appeal a marshal's ruling at an event for any reason must do so through the appropriate chain of appeals, beginning with the marshal immediately superior to the marshal who made the initial ruling. The chain of appeals is as follows:
   1. The Marshal-in-Charge of the field
   2. The Marshal-in-Charge of the event
   3. The Group Marshal of the group in which the event is held (if appropriate)
   4. The Kingdom Armoured Combat Marshal
   5. The Kingdom Earl Marshal
   6. The Crown
   7. The Board of SCA Australia Ltd and Committee of SCA NZ Inc
3. If any of those marshals are not at the event, the appeal may be made to the next marshal in the chain.
4. For rulings which apply only at the event, such as the compliance of weapons or armour, the chain of appeal ends with the highest-ranking marshal from the list above who is at the event.
5. Appeals on rulings which apply beyond the event at which they were made, such as revocation of authorisation, must be made directly to the Kingdom Earl Marshal.

Suspension of authorisation

1. A marshal from any kingdom may suspend any authorisation card from any kingdom for just and stated cause.
2. If your authorisation has been suspended, you may appeal the sanction, but you must surrender your card and abide by the sanction until the appeals process is complete.
3. The chain of appeals for suspension of authorisation is as follows:
   1. the Kingdom Armoured Combat Marshal
   2. the Kingdom Earl Marshal
   3. the Crown
   4. the Board of SCA Australia Ltd or Committee of SCANZ Inc
4. Any marshal who suspends an authorisation must report this, in writing, to their superior officer and the Kingdom Earl Marshal as soon as possible.
5. Any marshal who suspends an authorisation without due cause may be subject to sanctions themselves.
6. The Kingdom Earl Marshal must notify the Society Marshal of any suspension of authorisations.
7. Breaches of real-world law must be referred immediately to the appropriate authorities, in addition to any steps taken by the marshallate.

Managing incidents

1. The dispute procedures in Kingdom Law must be followed at all times.
2. The preferred solution is to resolve any incidents as quickly and with as little fuss as possible, by asking those involved to voluntarily correct any issues with their conduct or equipment.
3. In the event that formal action must be taken by a marshal in response to an incident, the following procedure shall be followed:
   1. Point out the violation (missing armour, grappling during combat, etc.) and ask the person to correct it.
   2. In the case of missing or inadequate armour, do not allow the person onto the field until it has been fixed.
   3. In the case of violation of the rules during combat, ask the combatant to leave the field, and do not allow combat to resume until they have cooled off. This particularly includes removing from the field anyone who has lost their temper.
4. In the event that an issue cannot be resolved and must be escalated, or the marshal attempting to resolve the issue requires support, they shall call on, in order of preference:
   1. Any other marshals who are present
   2. The Marshal-in-Charge of the field.
   3. The Marshal-in-Charge of the event
   4. The local Seneschal
   5. The Kingdom Armoured Combat Marshal
   6. The Kingdom Earl Marshal
   7. The Kingdom Seneschal
   8. The Crown
   9. The Board of SCA Australia Ltd or Committee of SCANZ Inc.
5. If the violation cannot be stopped, and participants continue to engage in combat-related activities, the Marshal in Charge and the Event Steward and/or local Seneschal shall end the event.
6. In any case where voluntary correction is not made after the problem has been pointed out, a written report shall be made to the Kingdom Armoured Combat Marshal as soon as possible after the event.

Sanctions

1. In addition to removing a combatant from the field at the time, long-term sanctions are available.
2. Sanctions with effects lasting more than a single event shall be applied by the Kingdom Earl Marshal after the conduct of a court of chivalry at which the sanctioned individual will be given the opportunity to defend themselves.
3. Possible sanctions include:
   1. Revoking the authorisation of the individual to fight with a particular weapon. This sanction may be applied as a revocation of a weapon-specific authorisation, or a prohibition from using a weapon normally covered by the usual Heavy Combatant authorisation, e.g, barring fighter from using any two-handed weapon.
   2. Revoking the authorisation of the individual to fight at all.
4. Further sanctions which may be applied as a result of serious violations include banishment by the Crown, and ultimately revocation and denial of membership by the Boards of Directors.
5. If any of these long-term sanctions are in progress, the Society Marshal must be informed.
6. If authorisation has been revoked, it is acceptable to inform the Earls Marshal of any Kingdoms to which the sanctioned individual might travel. Once long-term sanctions have been applied, a report shall be made to the Society Marshal.
7. An authorisation from any Kingdom may be suspended/revoked in another Kingdom, should it prove necessary and appropriate. Such suspension/revocation means that the fighter may not fight anywhere in the Society until and unless the issue is resolved. Accordingly, the Earl Marshal shall inform the Earls Marshal of the neighbouring Kingdoms.
8. Furthermore, if the fighter is subsequently reauthorised, the neighbouring Earls Marshal shall again be notified.