Once attention has been drawn to an irregularity or an irregularity in the procedure as set forth in the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge occurs, then a ruling by the appointed Director must be made based on the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. The bridge player, as stated in the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge, has the right to appeal said ruling.

Purpose of this Information

It is our attempt to only archive and preserve such published Appeals and Appeals Cases on this site, mainly in .pdf file format form for the benefit of the reader, student, and visitor. These appeal cases may be found on the Internet in different form and in different location.

CHAPTER XI
APPEALS

LAW 92 - RIGHT TO APPEAL

  A. Contestant’s Right
A contestant or his Captain may appeal for a review of any ruling made at his table by the Director*.
  B. Time of Appeal
The right to request or appeal a Director’s ruling expires 30 minutes after the official score has been made available for inspection, unless the sponsoring organisation has specified a different time period.
  C. How to Appeal
All appeals shall be made through the Director.
  D. Concurrence of Appellants
An appeal shall not be heard unless both members of a pair (except in an individual contest) or the captain of a team, concur in appealing. An absent member shall be deemed to concur.

* Sponsoring organizations may establish penalties for appeals without merit.

LAW 93 - PROCEDURES OF APPEAL

  A. No Appeals Committee
The Chief Director shall hear and rule upon all appeals if there is no Tournament or Appeals Committee, or when a committee cannot meet without disturbing the orderly progress of the tournament.
  B. Appeals Committee Available
If a committee is available,
1. Appeal Concerns Law
The Chief Director shall hear and rule upon such part of the appeal as deals solely with the Law or regulations. His ruling may be appealed to the committee*.
2. All Other Appeals
The Chief Director shall refer all other appeals to the committee* for adjudication.
3. Adjudication of Appeals
In adjudicating appeals the committee* may exercise all powers assigned by these Laws to the Director, except that the committee may not overrule the Director on a point of law or regulations, or on exercise of hid disciplinary powers. The committee may recommend to the Director that he change his ruling.
  C. Appeal to National Authority
After the preceding remedies have been exhausted, further appeal may be taken to the national authority (on a point of law, in ACBL the National Laws Commission, 2990 Airways Boulevard, Memphis, TN, 38116-3847).

* Zonal organizations may establish differing conditions of appeals for special contests.

ACBL has recorded and archived such Appeals Casebooks at the following link and other links to such Appeals Cases are provided if possible, although the origin has not been completely ascertained.

NABC Casebooks: North American Bridge Championships Casebooks

Note: Any Appeals Case listed on this site has been only archived and preserved for future reference by bridge students wishing to avail themselves of the opinions and expressions of more experienced bridge players in deciding a certain situation arising at the bridge table, which may or may not require such opinions and expressions of more experienced bridge players. The bridge student should review first the original source located (and linked if possible) on the Internet.

The World Bridge Federation has published in December 2001 a revised Code of Practice, Incorporating Appeals Examples and Guidelines For Rulings. This revised Code of Practice can be found on the website of the World Bridge Federation under the heading of Departments. This revised Code of Practice has only been archived and preserved on this site in the form of a .pdf file for future reference.

1994 Fall North American Bridge Championships, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Appeals compiled by John Blubaugh, Chairperson: David Treadwell, Committee Members: Martin Caley and Ed Lazarus.

1994 NEC World Bridge Championships, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Appeals 2-7 - Appeals 9-19 - Appeals 20-29 - Appeals 30-39 - Appeals 43-51.

1995 Marlboro Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup, Beijing, China, compiled by Becky Rogers and Rich Colker.

1995 42nd Generali Europeans Bridge Championships, Vilamoura, Portugal. Reported by Tommy Sandsmark. Appeals Committee: Steen Moeller, Denmark (Chairman),Ron Andersen, USA, Barry Rigal, Great Britain and Tommy Sandsmark, Norway.

1995 Fall North American Bridge Championships, Atlanta, Georgia, Appeals compiled by John Blubaugh.

1995 Spring North American Bridge Championship, Phoenix, Arizona, Appeals compiled by John Blubaugh.

1995 Summer NABC New Orleans Appeals - Not Available

1995 American International Teams Trials, Las Vegas, Nevada, ITT Appeals by Rich Colker.

1996 European Union Bridge League Championships, Oostende, Belgium.

1996 Fall North American Bridge Championships, San Francisco, California.

1996 Fall North American Bridge Championships, San Francisco, California. Also titled The Streets of San Francisco after the popular TV series, and Crime and Punishment by the Bay. Edited by Rich Colker. Dedicated to the memory of Edgar Kaplan and Jan Cohen. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1996 Spring North American Bridge Championships, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Editors: Henry Francis and Jody Lathanm, Appeals 1-16 - Appeals 17-28.

1996 Spring North American Bridge Championships, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Editors: Eric Kokish and Rick Colker. Also titled The Philadelphia Story. Chairwoman: Joan Levy Gerard. Co-Chairman: Alan LeBendig. This casebook is dedicated to the memory of Howard Chandross. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1996 Summer North American Bridge Championships, Miami, Florida.

1996 Summer North American Bridge Championships, Miami, Florida. Also titled Miami Vice (after the popular TV series). Edited by Eric Kokish and Rich Colker. Chairwoman: Joan Levy Gerard. Co-Chairpersons: Alan LeBendig and Peggy Sutherlin. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1996 US International Teams Trial Appeals, San Francisco, California, compiled by Rich Colker.

1996 10th World Team Olympiad, Rhodes, compiled by Rich Colker and Tommy Sandsmark.

1997 European Bridge Championship Montecatini, Terme, Italy, Reported by Steen Moller.

1997 Fall North American Bridge Championships, National Appeals Committee Hearings, St-Louis, Missouri.

1997 Fall North American Bridge Championships, National Appeals Committee Hearings, St-Louis, Missouri. Edited by Rich Colker. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1997 Spring North American Bridge Championships, Dallas, Texas.

1997 Spring North American Bridge Championships, Dallas, Texas. Also titled Dallas: They Fought the Law and BIG DEAL IN BIG "D". Edited by Rich Colker. A new feature in this casebook is the inclusion of the appeals from the 1996 ITT (International Teams Trial) held in New Orleans. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1997 69th Summer North American Bridge Championship, Albuquerque, Mexico. Edited by Rich Colker. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1997 US International Teams Trial Appeals, compiled by Rich Colker.

1997 World Teams Championships Hammamet, Tunisia, Reported by Hans Folke.

1998 Fall North American Bridge Championship, Orlando, Florida. Also titled Mikey Mouse (and Goofy) Happenings in Orlando, owing to the nearness of Disneyland. Edited by Rich Colker. Dedicated to the memory: Brian Moran and Bobby Goldman. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1998 41st Spring North American Bridge Championship, Reno, Nevada

Reno Case Book, with a Foreword written by Jay M. Apfelbaum. The Appeals Committee is listed on page 125 with the Director being Alan LeBendig.

1998 Summer North American Bridge Championship, Chicago, Illinois, plus cases from the 1989 ITT (International Teams Trial Appeals), CNTC, and World Bridge Championships. Edited by Rich Colker. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1998 Summer North American Bridge Championship, Chicago, Illinois. This is the short version or Summary of the Appeals Cases.

1998 World Bridge Championships Lille, France, Appeals 1-27 (not available) - Appeals 28-58, Reported by David Stevenson, Herman De Wael, Tommy Sandsmark, Rich Colker.

1999 10th European Pairs Championship Warsaw, Poland.

1999 44th European Teams Championship, Malta, Foreword and Statistics - Appeals 1-13 - Appeals 14-26 - Appeals 27-38.

1999 10th European Open Pairs Championship, Warsaw, Poland..

1999 Fall North American Bridge Championships, Boston, Massachusetts.

1999 Fall North American Bridge Championships, Boston, Massachusetts. Also titled They Had Their Beans Baked In Beantown and Boston: Where Bridge is Revered, a word-play on Paul Revere, who was immortalized after his death for his role as a messenger in the battles of Lexington and Concord. Edited by Rich Colker. Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). The ACBL Board of Directors is testing a new appeals process at NABCs in 1999 and 2000 in which a Committee (called a Panel) comprised of pre-selected top Directors will hear appeals at NABCs from non-NABC+ events (including side games, regional events and restricted NABC events). Appeals from NABC+ events will continue to be heard by the National Appeals Committees (NAC). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1999 Spring North American Bridge Championships, Vancouver, Canada.

1999 Spring North American Bridge Championships, Vancouver, Canada. Also designated as the Grizzly Experiences in Vancouver. Edited by Rich Colker. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

The ACBL Board of Directors, for the three NABCs in 1999, has chosen to conduct a test of a new appeals process in which a Committee (herein referred to as a Panel – capitalized), comprised of pre-selected top Directors, hears all appeals from non-NABC+ events (including side games, regional events and NABC events with top-end masterpoint restrictions). Appeals from NABC+ events continue to be heard by the National Appeals Committees (NAC). Our handling of both types of cases will be to treat Panels as we have treated regular Committees.

1999 Summer North American Bridge Championships, San Antonio, Texas. Titled also They Forgot the Alamo, But Remembered to Appeal in San Antonio, a comical, poetic reference to the siege or Battle of Alamo, which lasted thirteen days from Tuesday, February 23 to Sunday, March 6 1836. Edited by Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Also contains cases from the 1999 WITT. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

1999 World Teams Championships, Bermuda.

2000 English Bridge Union Summer Meeting, Edited by David Stevenson.

2000 European Mixed Pairs Championship Bellaria (Rimini), Italy.

2000 Fall North American Bridge Championships, Birmingham, Alabama. This is a Summary of nine cases.

2000 Fall North American Bridge Championships, Birmingham, Alabama. Also titled Alabama Drama. Edited by Rich Colker. Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). The Director of the NABC Appeals Committee was Ray Raskin, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The Committee included twenty-seven cases. This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2000 Spring North American Bridge Championships, Cincinnati, Ohio. Titled also Cincy-Naughty: Corwned in the Queen City. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2000 Summer North American Bridge Championships, Anaheim, California. A Summary of seven cases.

2000 Summer North American Bridge Championships, Anaheim, California. Also titled Anaheim Angels? - Not Exactly in reference to the Major League Baseball franchise of that year, but which was renamed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on January 3, 2005 by the new owners, Angles Baseball, L.P., a group headed by advertising magnate Arturo (Arte) Moreno. Contains cases from the World Teams Olympiad. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2000 World Bridge Olympiad Maastrict, The Netherlands.

2001 11th European Pairs Championship Sorrento, Italy .

2001 45th Generali European Bridge Championship Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

2001 Fall North American Bridge Championship, Las Vegas, Nevada. Also titled They Felt "Lucky" in Las Vegas. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2001 Spring North American Bridge Championship, Kansas City, Kansas. Also titled Kansas City: The Heart of America and also Kansas City Bombers, which is (was) the name of the Roller Derby, which is an American contact sport, and historically, a form of sports entertainment, based on formation roller skating around a track. It is played at both professional and amateur levels. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2001 Summer North American Bridge Championship, Toronto, Canada. Also titled Torrents in Toronto. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2001 European Bridge Union - Summer Meeting 2001 - Spring Foursomes 2001 - Crockford's Final 2001, Edited by David Stevenson. All the appeals from the EBU Summer Meeting at Brighton, England, the EBU Spring Foursomes, and the EBU Crockford’s Cup Final have been included herein.

2002 Eupean Bridge Union Booklet - Summer Meeting 2001 - Spring Foursomes 2001 - Crockford's Final 2001, Edited by David Stevenson. All the appeals from the EBU Summer Meeting at Brighton, England, the EBU Spring Foursomes, and the EBU Crockford’s Cup Final have been included herein.

2002 Fall North American Bridge Championship, Phoenix, Arizona. Also titled Sun Valley Shenanigans and Bridge Fun in the Valley of the Sun. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2002 Spring North American Bridge Championship, Houston, Texas. Also titled Houston, We have a Problem, which is a reference to the space agency NASA located in Houston, Texas. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2002 Summer North American Bridge Championship, Washington D.C., which is the capital of the United States and which is not a state, but rather a District. Also titled Capitol Crimes and Misdemeanors, which is a direct reference to the United States judicial system located in the District of Columbia. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2003 Fall North American Bridge Championship, New Orleans, Louisiana. Also titled All That ("Appealing") Jazz, which is first a reference to the city being the origin of the music designated as Jazz and the ambiguity of the English word appeal, which means 1. a resort to a higher authority or greater power, and 2. the power of attracting or of arousing interest. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2003 Spring North American Bridge Championship, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Also titled The Philadelphia Experiment and Philadelphia: Let Freedom Ring. The Philadephia Experiment refers to the rumor (The genesis of the Philadelphia Experiment myth dates back to 1955 with the publication of The Case for UFO's by Morris K. Jessup) that allegedly, in the fall of 1943 a U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Eldridge, was made invisible and teleported from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Norfolk, Virginia, in an incident, which has become known as the Philadelphia Experiment. Records in the Operational Archives Branch of the Naval Historical Center have been repeatedly searched, but no documents have been located which confirm the event, or any interest by the Navy in attempting such an achievement. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2003 Summer North American Bridge Championship, Long Beach, California. Also titled Beached in Long Beach, which is possibly a reference to the cruise liner Queen Mary, which is permanently docked in Long Beach and is presently a hotel. Another possibility is that it is a reference to the many beaches along the west coast of California. Editor Rich Colker (ACBL Appeals Administrator). Assistant Editor: Linda Trent (ACBL Appeals Manager). This is the archived version of ACBL, which may contain incompatible suit symbols for all browsers.

2004 The European Bridge League Appeals Booklet, Including the appeals from: The European Team Championships, Malmö, Sweden, held in 2004 and The European Junior Championships, Praha, Czech Republic, held in August 2004.

2004 Fall North American Bridge Championship, Orlando, Florida. Presented by American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The casebooks are now being compiled, edited and printed by ACBL headquarters in Memphis. While the way the casebooks are developed has changed, it is hoped that their purpose and usefulness has not. There were 29 cases heard in Orlando. Eighteen of them were NABC+ cases, which means they were from unrestricted championship events and heard by a peer committee. Eleven cases are from regional events. They include the regional championship events, some side events and any NABC event that carried an upper masterpoint restriction.

2004 Spring North American Bridge Championship, Reno, Nevada. Presented by American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). This casebook marks some changes. Richard Colker, who served as editor for the past several years, no longer assembles these cases. Under his guidance, the casebook became what it is today – a useful tool to help improve Appeals Committees, particularly at NABCs. Richard was more than an editor, serving also as a commentator. The ACBL recognizes and appreciates Richard’s work over the years. The casebooks are now being compiled, edited and printed by ACBL headquarters in Memphis. There were 36 cases heard in Reno. Twenty-four of them were NABC cases, which means they were from unrestricted NABC+ events and heard by an Appeals Committee. Twelve cases were from regional events; they included the regional championship events, some side events and any NABC event that carried masterpoint restrictions.

2004 Summer North American Bridge Championship, New York, New York. Presented by American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The casebooks are now being compiled, edited and printed by ACBL headquarters in Memphis. There were 33 cases heard in New York City. Thirteen of them were NABC+ cases, which means they were from unrestricted championship events and heard by a peer committee. Twenty cases are from regional events. They include the regional championship events, some side events and any NABC event that carried an upper masterpoint restriction.

2005 Fall North American Bridge Championship,

2005 Spring North American Bridge Championship, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Presented by American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The casebooks are now being compiled, edited and printed by the American Contract Bridge League headquarters in Memphis. It is intended to be a tool to help improve appeal committees, particularly at NABCs. The ACBL continues to make these casebooks available on the web site to reach a wider audience. Twenty-three cases heard in Pittsburgh are reported here. Fifteen of them were NABC+ cases. Eight cases are from regional events. They include the regional champion-ship events, some side events and any NABC event that carried an upper masterpoint restriction.

2005 Summer North American Bridge Championship, Atlanta, Georgia. Presented by American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The casebooks are intended to be a tool to help improve appeal committees, particularly at NABCs. The ACBL continues to make these cases available on its web site. Printed casebooks from previous NABCs remain available from the ACBL product store.

 

 

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should be or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.

 


     
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