TITLE I. SANCTIONS

CHAPTER I. General Provisions

CHAPTER II. Code of Conduct Violation Policy

CHAPTER III. Gather Administration Guidelines

TITLE II. APPEALS

CHAPTER I. General Provisions on Appeals

CHAPTER II. Appeal from the Decision of a Referee

CHAPTER III. Appeal from the Decision of a Gather Moderator

CHAPTER IV. Appeal from the Decision of an Admin

CHAPTER V. Ombudsman Intervention

TITLE I. SANCTIONS

CHAPTER I. General Provisions

1. No one shall be held guilty by an NSL staff member on account of any act or omission which did not constitute an offense, under any of the NSL rules, including the Code of Conduct, at the time when it was committed.
2. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time when the offense was committed.
3. The established NSL administration cannot change a sanction applied by former admins and/or outside the appeal process. 
4. The review of a final decision (if the appeal has been rejected) may be requested for the benefit of any player severely sanctioned when, after a conviction, a new fact or an element unknown at the time the decision was made comes to the attention of the NSL staff, and that is likely to establish the innocence of the convicted player or to give rise to doubt about his guilt.

CHAPTER II. Code of Conduct Violation Policy

1. Violating the Code of Conduct can result in a range of sanctions to be placed on the Offender, ranging from warnings to a permanent ban from all League activities:
   
   • Admins of the League are obliged to apply sanctions in an even and just manner.
   • Denial of justice can be considered as a violation of the Code of Conduct.
   • Repeated violations of the Code of Conduct can result in progressively severe sanctions, up to a permanent ban from League activities.
   • Aggravating (e.g. being a current or former member of the NSL staff) and attenuating circumstances (e.g. lack of fraudulent intent/good faith) surrounding the context of the offense are to be taken into consideration to determine the penalty applied.
   • Staff members may be suspended in their duty until a proper sanction is applied, or if an extensive investigation is required. 
2. The below structure will serve as guidelines for the issuing of sanctions:
   
   • Behavior will result in a sanction of up to a permanent ban.
   • Cheating and Game Integrity will result in a sanction of a permanent ban from all League activities, and any records previously held stricken.
   • Anti-Harassment will result in a sanction of up to a permanent ban.
   • Software and Hardware will result in a sanction of up to a permanent ban from the League and expulsion from any live event.

CHAPTER III. Gather Administration Guidelines

1. The purpose of this section is to set general guidelines for sanctions specific to the NSL Gather system and provide guidance to Gather Moderators. Gather offenses expire 2 months after the last offense:
   
   • Not showing up to a Gather in time without finding a replacement:
   • First offense - Warning.
   • Second offense - 1 day ban.
   • Third offense - 2 day ban minimum, up to a 5 day ban.
   • Multiple offenses - 7 day ban minimum, up to a permanent ban if continuously repeated. 
    
2. If already in a Gather, joining the next Gather before a minimum of 2 players of the same team quit the round, thereby making the unequal team auto-concede:
   
   • First offense - Warning and removal from the next gather.
   • Second offense - 1 day ban.
   • Third offense - 2 day ban minimum, up to a 5 day ban.
   • Multiple offenses - 7 day ban minimum, up to a permanent ban if continuously repeated. 
    
3. Quitting a gather early without finding a replacement:
   
   • First offense – 1 day ban.
   • Second offense – 2 day ban minimum, up to a 5 day ban.
   • Multiple offenses – 7 day ban minimum, up to a permanent ban if continuously repeated.
    

TITLE II. APPEALS

CHAPTER I. General Provisions on Appeals

1. Decisions, or actions violating the Code of Conduct, made in NSL matters by a staff member may be challenged by appeal.
2. The appeal can only be brought before an Admin which can vary depending on the disputed decision (see categories below).
3. The appeal must be filed within a reasonable time from the pronouncement of any decision rendered adversarially.
4. In all circumstances, the Admin himself must respect the adversarial principle.
5. If the process can be public, the final decision made has to be public.
6. Any claim raised by a player deprived of the right of action, as mentioned below, will be dismissed.
7. Any player who appeals a decision in an abusive way may be sanctioned.
   

CHAPTER II. Appeal from the Decision of a Referee

1. The Referee has the final say when it comes to decisions rendered in accordance to rules applicable to the match, unless appealed. 
2. Any decision or action during a league match from a Referee can be subject to appeal from one of the teams or both through their Captains. 
3. The appeal can only be brought first and foremost to the League Admin, or the Executive Admin if the League Admin is missing. 
   
   • The League Admin decision is final. 
   • The Executive Admin cannot override such a decision as long as the match isn't over, in order to not disrupt the good execution of the ongoing match.
4. A final appeal can, however, be brought before the Executive Admin after the match has ended, unless he already gave a decision (see 3.) or the appeal has become irrelevant.
   
   • Such an appeal must be based on legitimate grounds to overcome the League Admin decision.
     

CHAPTER III. Appeal from the Decision of a Gather Moderator

1. The Gather Moderator has the final say when it comes to decisions rendered in accordance to rules applicable to gathers, unless appealed. 
2. If a decision affects an individual player (such as a ban for not showing up), the right to appeal belongs to that individual only. 
3. If a decision affects more than a single player (such as picking an undesirable replacement for a missing player or abusing powers), the right to appeal belongs to each player suffering the decision.   
4. The appeal can only be brought first and foremost to the League Admin, or the Executive Admin if the League Admin is missing. 
   
   • The League Admin decision is final. 
   • The Executive Admin cannot override such a decision as long as the gather isn't over, in order to not disrupt the good execution of the ongoing gather.
5. A final appeal can, however, be brought before the Executive Admin after the gather has ended, unless he already gave a decision (see 4.) or the appeal has become irrelevant. .
   
   • Such an appeal must be based on legitimate grounds to overcome the League Admin decision.
     

CHAPTER IV. Appeal from the Decision of an Admin

1. Any appeal from a decision rendered by an Admin based on a violation of the Code of Conduct can be brought before the Executive Admin.
2. Any decision rendered by the Executive Admin based on a violation of the Code of Conduct can only be appealed before the Executive Admin who will review the case, a second time.
3. The League Ombudsman can intervene in order to conciliate both parties (see Ombudsman intervention).
4. If a decision affects an individual player (such as a ban from the league), the right to appeal belongs to that individual only. 
5. If a decision based on a violation of the Code of Conduct affects more than a single player (such as a Referee or Admin abusing powers), the right to appeal belongs to each player suffering the decision.   
6. If the Executive Admin is himself found to have committed a violation of the Code of Conduct, or otherwise neglected his duties, the other Admins can stage a vote of removal.
7. If any other Admin is found to have committed a violation of the Code of Conduct, or otherwise neglected his duties, the Executive Admin can proceed to a removal.
   

CHAPTER V. Ombudsman Intervention

1. The League Ombudsman is an official charged with investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration or any violation of the Code of Conduct by a staff member.
2. The League Ombudsman is not supervised by the Executive Admin.
3. Members of the League may anonymously submit reports for the Ombudsman to investigate. These reports must contain:
   
   • A credible accusation.
   • Evidence of wrongdoing (chatlogs, recordings, video evidence, witnesses).
4. The League Ombudsman is obliged to keep all reports confidential and on a need-to-know basis. 
5. If the report seems credible to the League Ombudsman and requires further investigation or actions, he will contact the appropriate people.

Last updated 10/10/19.