1. INTERPRETATION and definitions 

1. In the interpretation of these procedures, unless the contrary intention appears:
   1. Headings are inserted for convenience only and are not to be used to assist interpretation;
   2. Any gender includes all genders, any reference to the singular includes the plural (and vice versa), and references to persons includes bodies corporate, unincorporated associations and partnerships (whether or not any of them have a separate legal personality).
       
2. For the purpose of these procedures the following definitions apply:

"Appeals Committee" means an Appeals Committee appointed by Gourock Golf Club; 

"Alcohol & Drugs Policy" means the Alcohol & Drugs Policy of Gourock Golf Club; 

"Appellant" means any member subject to a disciplinary decision who chooses to appeal it; 

"Captain" means the Captain of Gourock Golf Club; 

"Secretary" means the Member appointed to sit on the Investigation Committee; the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeals Committee and act as Secretary for any Disciplinary Meetings. 

"Club" means Gourock Golf Club; 

"Competition" means any competition organised by the Gourock Golf Club. 

"Complainer" means any person making a complaint about any Member; 

"CONGU" means the Council of National Golf Unions; 

"Day" means any day other than a Public Holiday; 

"Disciplinary Committee" means the Disciplinary Committee of Gourock Golf Club; 

“Investigation Committee” means the Investigation Committee of Gourock Golf Club; 

"Member" means any Member of the Club who is the subject of any disciplinary investigation in accordance with these procedures; 

"Player" means a person who plays the game of golf; 

"Procedures" mean these Procedures; 

"Rules of Golf" means the rules of golf as defined by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. 

2) Overview 

These Procedures deal with hearings in respect of: 

1. Breaches of Constitution, Club Rules and Code of Conduct; 
2. Any complaint about any member; and 
3. Complaints regarding any person competing officially in any Club competition. 
4. The Procedures apply to all members of the Club. 
5. Disciplinary action may be informal or formal. Informal disciplinary action will involve discussing the problem with the member and/or the complainer through the Captain or other Office Bearer with a view to resolving the issue. Formal disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with these Procedures. 

3) Membership and Powers of Committees 

1. The Club shall establish an Investigation Committee which shall seek to establish facts and make recommendations to the General Committee. 
2. The Club shall establish a Disciplinary Committee which shall have the power to act in the name of the Club and determine disciplinary proceedings coming before it. 
3. The membership of any Disciplinary Committee will be determined by the General Committee and will have not fewer than 5 members.
4. The Club will establish an Appeals Committee of not fewer than 3 Past Captains to consider any competent appeal. None of these members shall be members of the Disciplinary Committee 
5. Any person who sits on either the Disciplinary Committee or Appeal Committee shall:
   1. be unbiased and have no personal interest in or involvement with the case; 
   2. be familiar with these procedures; 
   3. act within their powers under these procedures and fairly, reasonably and proportionately at all times; 
   4. take advice where appropriate including, if necessary, appointing a solicitor or legal representative to attend and advise at hearing; 
   5. have consideration and respect for all parties; and 
   6. apply the standard of proof as the balance of probabilities. 
6. The Appeals Committee will have the full powers and authorities of the Disciplinary Committee including the power to increase, decrease or accept any such penalties already imposed and/or impose any such new penalties as outlined in these Procedures. 
7. Both the Disciplinary and Appeal Committees shall appoint a chair who will preside over each Committee. 
8. Both Committees shall take decisions, including decisions as to guilt and appropriate sanctions, on the basis of a simple majority of Committee members with the Chair holding a casting vote if no majority is reached. 
9. The Disciplinary Committee and the Appeals Committee shall have the power to abridge or extend any time limits set out in these Procedures, if in their reasonable discretion; it is considered appropriate in the circumstances. 
10. The Disciplinary Committee and the Appeals Committee shall not be entitled to introduce or consider opinion evidence other than expert opinion evidence. 
11. The Disciplinary Committee and Appeals Committee shall exercise their functions independently of the Club. 
12. The Secretary will take minutes of any Investigation, Disciplinary or Appeals Committee for consistency and will have no vote on any of these Committees. 

4) Initial Complaint Handling 

a) Any complaints about a Member should be made in writing by the complainer and sent to the Captain and be signed and dated. The Captain may allow the complainer(s) to withhold their identity from the Members for exceptional circumstances. However, it is recognised that the person complained against in most cases has the right to know the identity of the complainer. 

b) Any complaint must be lodged within 7 days of the alleged incident or grounds for the complaint arising or becoming known or such further time as is reasonably allowed by the Captain (or his/her nominee). 

c) The complaint must specify the details of the alleged incident or grounds for complaint including, if appropriate, which provision of the Constitution, Club Rules and Code of Conduct has been breached. 

d) The Captain shall: 

i) forward a copy of the complaint to the member in question and request a written response within 7 days; 

ii) convene the Investigations Committee to undertake any further investigation and report back to the General Committee; 

iii) forward the complaint, written response and any other relevant material, if applicable, to the Disciplinary Committee for consideration as set out below. 

5) Disciplinary Hearing 

a) Any person that is subject to a disciplinary hearing shall be supplied with a copy of the original complaint and any additional material provided to the Disciplinary Committee, including notice of any witnesses to be called or their evidence; 

b) Each Member shall have the right to the following: 

i) to be advised of the nature of the charge or complaint and the potential penalties that may apply; 

ii) to be present in person at any hearing and to be advised 14 days in advance of the date, time and place of such hearing; 

iii) to representation (legal or otherwise) at this hearing; 

iv) to state his case, call relevant witnesses and provide evidence at this hearing 

c) A shorter notice period can be given if agreed with the respective parties to the hearing. 

d) Names of any witnesses being proposed by the Member should be intimated 5 days before any hearing to the Secretary/Captain. 

e) If the Member is unable to attend at the meeting, he should notify the Secretary/Captain in writing. 

f) If the Member elects not to attend at the meeting without good reason, the disciplinary hearing may proceed in his/her absence. 

g) Unless the Disciplinary Committee otherwise directs, the procedure will be as follows: 

i) the Disciplinary Committee will explain the process and advise of the rights of appeal; 

ii) the terms of the Complaint will be considered followed by the written or oral response, if any, provided by the Member, including representation on penalty; 

iii) any further evidence will be heard; 

iv) any other witnesses to be called will then be heard (or in the situation where the witness is unable to attend, then their signed written statement will be read out); 

v) any witnesses are to be excluded from the hearing until required to give their evidence and must retire immediately after giving their evidence and answering any questions from the Disciplinary Committee; 

vi) questioning of the parties or any witnesses may only be directed by the Disciplinary Committee or as otherwise permitted by the Disciplinary Committee at its discretion, acting fairly and reasonably. 

vii) the Member will then be given the opportunity to make final submissions - including submissions on sanctions in the event that the complaint is upheld; and 

viii) notification of the decision, including as to any sanctions, with appropriate reasons shall be issued by the Secretary/Captain, in writing, to the parties within 7 days of the hearing. 

6) APPEAL HEARING 

a) An appeal must be lodged within 14 days of the decision being notified in writing to the Member. 

b) An appeal shall be lodged when a Notice of Appeal is received, by the Secretary/Captain (or his/her nominee). The Notice of Appeal shall be in writing, signed by the Appellant Member and shall specify: 

i) the name of the Appellant Member; 

ii) the decision appealed against; 

iii) the date of the decision appealed against; and 

iv) the specific grounds of the appeal (including in relation to sanctions). 

6.3 On receipt of an appeal, the Secretary/Captain will automatically forward all documentation to the members of the Appeals Committee. 

6.4 The Secretary shall communicate with the Appellant Member and: 

i) set a time, date, and place for the hearing of the appeal 

ii) advise on the composition of the Appeals Committee; 

iii) advise on the rules within this Procedure that govern the hearing and process. 

6.5 The Appellant Member is entitled, within 48 hours of notification; to lodge a written objection against any member of the Appeals Committee who can be shown to have a direct personal involvement or interest in the matter. Supporting evidence should be provided in support of any such claim. Any objection will be considered by the Secretary/Captain, who’s decision shall be final. All documentation to be used by any party at the appeal must be with all of the parties entitled to attend the appeal hearing at least 7 days prior to the appeal hearing. 

6.6 The Appeals Committee may, in its discretion, rehear the whole or any part of the evidence given before the Disciplinary Committee as it considers appropriate. 

6.7 The Appeals Committee shall be entitled to hear and receive such further evidence on appeal as it deems competent and fair. 

6.8 Any further evidence to be heard shall be made available to the Appellant member 7 days prior to the appeal hearing. Parties shall have the right to respond in writing to any further evidence to be presented. 

6.9 Where evidence is given before the Appeals Committee, there shall only be cross examination or questioning of witnesses by the Appeals Committee. 

6.10 Written notification of the decision of the Appeals Committee will be issued to the Appellant member within 7 days stating full reasons for the decision. 

6.11 The decision of the Appeals Committee is final and binding. 

7 PENALTIES 

a) No penalty shall be imposed on any person or body in disciplinary proceedings unless the alleged misconduct against the person or body is proved on the balance of probabilities and that penalty is fair, reasonable and proportionate in the opinion of the Disciplinary or Appeals Committees. 

b) If a complaint is proved against a Member, the Disciplinary Committee and Appeals Committee shall have the power to impose the following penalties: 

i) reprimand/warning; 

ii) suspension from Club membership for a specified period of time (including competition); 

iii) suspension from specified Club activities for a period of time or permanently; 

iv) expulsion from Club membership on a permanent basis; 

v) forfeiture of any competition and/or other points as specified; 

vi) a penalty pursuant to [clause 24] of the Council of National Golf Unions Unified handicapping System] 

vii) a combination of any of the above. 

viii) Any Member found guilty of cheating will not be eligible for Team selection. 

c) When a penalty is imposed, consideration will be given to the following: 

i) consistency and uniformity in the level of penalty imposed; 

ii) whether the penalty is reasonable and proportionate in all the circumstances; and 

iii) that where possible periods of suspension be imposed by reference to specific dates rather than playing days e.g. 1 April to 1 June. 

8 GENERAL PROVISIONS 

a) The hearing of proceedings by the Disciplinary Committee or the Appeals Committee shall be recorded by the taking of minutes by the Secretary or another nominated and appropriate person. 

b) The record of the proceedings and all papers associated with the proceedings shall be held by the Secretary/Captain (or his/her nominee) in a secure and appropriate manner. 

c) Copies of the record shall be made available to any person affected by the decision of the Disciplinary Committee or Appeals Committee. 

d) Any notices or correspondence to be sent to any Member or person under these procedures shall be sent by recorded delivery, first-class post or, if appropriate, secure electronic mail, to the last known address of that Member or person. Notices and correspondence should be deemed to be delivered in relation to electronic mail and recorded delivery as the next day after sending and in relation to first-class post, on the second day after posting. The relevant time period shall begin on the deemed date of receipt