1.    The Club shall, as required, convene a Disciplinary Committee to adjudicate on breaches of the Club Rules, the Club Code of Conduct, made via a formal complaint, against the Club, a section of the Club or a Member of the Club. In certain extreme cases the Committee may be convened based on information available prior to a formal complaint.

2.    A Disciplinary Committee will also be convened to adjudicate on breaches of the RFU Code of Conduct by a Member, such as dismissal/sending off from the field of play.

3.    The  disciplinary Committee should comprise of;

The Club President or Club Secretary (acting as chairman), and 2 other available members of the Executive Committee, or both of the aforementioned and one other member of the Executive Committee.

In the event of a conflict of interest between any Executive Committee member and the subject of the enquiry, they will not be allowed to form part of Disciplinary Committee.

4.    The Committee shall be empowered to impose sanctions against any Member or section of the Club breaking the Club Rules, Code of Conduct or RFU’s Code of Conduct. These sanctions could be in the form of a verbal warning, written reprimand or period of suspension.

5.    The general rule will be that no action shall be taken against a Member or section of the Club, until a formal complaint or referees report has been received. However in certain circumstances where the offence is sufficiently serious or that a Club decision may pre-empt a decision made by an external body, action may be taken before receipt of formal documentation but only after a meeting of the Disciplinary Panel.

6.    It is the right of any Member or external party to make a formal complaint, in writing, to the Executive Committee, who will if it is deemed necessary, convene a Disciplinary Committee.

7.    If following a formal complaint from a Member or from an external party the Executive Committee deems a Disciplinary process is required then a meeting of the Disciplinary Committee shall be arranged within 7 days and the party making the complaint will be notified. They will also be informed that they may invite any witness to the event, as may the defendant/s or the Committee.

8.    In the event of a breach of the RFU Code of Conduct, such as a red card, the Head Coach of the team involved is responsible for informing the Head of the playing Section within 3 hours of the end of the match. The Section Head is responsible for notifying the Club President or the Club Secretary within 12 hours of the end of the match. The Disciplinary Committee will meet within 48 hours of the incident, but not on the day of the incident, as a preliminary fact finding session ahead of receiving the formal referee’s report.

The session should include

-Written or oral evidence from the player dismissed

-Written or oral evidence from the team coach and other witnesses

The formal report should be received from the referee, via MCRFU, within 7 days.  After which the Disciplinary Committee will meet again to review the report and prepare the case of the MCRFU Disciplinary Meeting and a written formal response to the MCRFU.

All communication with external bodies will be through the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee or his elected representative

9.    Before any meeting of the Disciplinary Committee, the Chairman shall explain to the member;

a.    Who will be the members of the Committee?

b.    What are the Committee’s powers?

c.    The procedure to be followed.

10.    The procedure shall be as follows;

a.    The Committee will hear full details from the complainant or read out the referee’s/coaches report in the event of playing incident,

b.    They will then go through the complaint or report in detail and will be able to ask questions about it to the complainant or player as appropriate.

c.    They will then call and hear any witnesses to the incident and will be able to ask questions of them, as may the complainant or player concerned.

d.    The defendant, if appropriate will then be given the opportunity to state his case and call any witnesses, where applicable, who may also be questioned by the committee.

e.    The complainant or player will then be given the opportunity to make final representations.

f.      In the case of a breach of RFU Code of Conduct the views of the player or players Head Coach where they witnessed the alleged incident will be included in the evidence reviewed, as well as any input concerning past conduct or recommendation they may have in regard to Internal Club Disciplinary measures.

11.   The Disciplinary Committee shall make a decision on any issue to which it is referred based on all the evidence and advice produced and with reference to the Code of Conduct, the Rules of the Club, The RFU Code of Conduct and the best interests of the Club.

12.   In all cases the decision shall be made known to the person making the formal complaint or dismissed player. In the case of an incident that may go to an External Disciplinary Committee, it should be explained that they may impose a more severe punishment and that costs could be involved.

13.    Any decision made by the Disciplinary Committee will be subject to appeal to the main Executive Committee of the Club. Any such appeal should be made in writing and given to any of the Executive Officers within 7 days of the decision being made.

14.   Any information provided to the Disciplinary Committee, any discussions had within the Disciplinary Committee process and any decisions made by the Disciplinary Committee will be confidential and only discussed with relevant individuals.