WVBF Ethical Principles

PREAMBLE
The WVBF, World Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Federation , and her members pursuant to the Article 2.1.1 of the WVBF Constitution, announcing their adherence to the Olympic Charter and to its fundamental principles notably the educative value and the good example, concerned to guarantee the sport ethics within the Beach Volleyball and the Volleyball family, adopt the present Ethical principles.
The WVBF members pledge particularly to defend the democratic, transparency and professionalism principles which are the WVBF fundamentals. Consequently, the members compel themselves to respect and to make everybody respect the present Ethical principles when pursuing objectives defined by the WVBF and with their respective competences trough any competitive, social and moral action.
A. DIGNITY
Dignity means the appropriate respect of the rights of the individual notably the right to the private life.
1. The safeguarding of the human being dignity is a fundamental requirement for all.
2. There shall be no discrimination for members on the basis of race, sex, ethnic origin, religion, philosophical or political opinion, marital or family status or others.
3. The expression freedom, fundamental basis of the democracy, must be guaranteed in the WVBF when it respects the Constitution provisions.
No member could be suspended or expelled for having expressed an opinion even different of the common one.
4. Any form of praxis denigrating physically, mentally or morally any individual will be prohibited.
5. Any form of harassment, physical, moral, professional, or sexual will be prohibited.
6. The members should guarantee to the players, official and leaders the adequate conditions of safety, well-being and medical care for the physical and mental wellness.
7. Any doping process is absolutely prohibited at all the levels. The world anti doping instructions adopted by the WADA must be respected carefully.
B. INTEGRITY
Integrity means to be honest, to refrain from all incorrect behavior and to face life circumstances with moral strength and incorruptibility.
1. The WVBF members and/or their representatives may not, directly or indirectly, ask, offer or accept any concealed remuneration, any commission, any advantage or hidden service, in any form other than authorized by the WVBF regulations.
2. It is prohibited to accept, buy or offer, directly or indirectly, personal presents or to offer particular privileges in order to be elected in a WVBF body.
3. Only small presents in accordance with the local customs may be given or accepted by the members for mutual respect and friendship. Any other present should be remitted by the member to the organization to which he (she) belongs.
4. The hospitality offered to the WVBF members, personnel and accompanying persons should not exceed the hosting country customs. During official competitions and events, the WVBF members are not authorized to be accompanied by family members or friends whose costs should be born by the WVBF, National federations, Associations, Individual, clubs or other organizations except if the concerned organization or Individual has clearly authorized it and assumes the additional costs.
5. The members shall fulfill their mission with diligence and care. They will do their best to avoid any act likely to tarnish the WVBF image and reputation.
6. The members shall achieve the assigned duties and functions with full responsibility without being controlled and in the complete respect and the best interest of the Beach Volleyball, the Volleyball and the WVBF Constitution, Ethical principles and regulations.
7. The members must not be involved with companies or persons whose activities are
inconsistent with the principles defined in the WVBF Constitution, Ethical principles and regulations.
8. The members are not authorized to give or accept imperative voting instruction for WVBF bodies’ elections.
C. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Conflict of Interest means a situation where :
• a person could have a gain or a personal advantage, direct or indirect, from a third party, due to his(her) decision(s) taken in the accomplishment of his(her) functions;
• the silence, the opinion or the decision of a person acting alone within an WVBF body or organization could be reasonably considered as possibly influenced by the relations which that person has, had or is going to have with another person or organization which could be affected by his(her) decision;
• a person performing a function on behalf of any of the WVBF members, suppliers or
partners is required to declare any possible conflict arising from his function or personal involvement with another WVBF member, supplier or partner;
• each WVBF member is responsible for avoiding any conflict of interest;
• confronted to a possible conflict of interest’s situation, the concerned person must refrain to give his(her) opinion, to decide or to accept any advantage. In case of doubt on an eventual conflict of interest’s situation, the concerned person should consult the Ethics commission/foundation in ethic which will act according to the regulations. This consultation will remain confidential.
D. RESSOURCES
1. The WVBF and WVBF members’ resources will be used principally for sport.
2. The income and expenses of each WVBF member will respect the transparency principle, the accounting rules and the legal obligations of their respective country. The accounts will be controlled by an external and independent auditor. If necessary, the member’s accounts will be audited by an external expert appointed by the WVBF Board of Administration.
3. The members recognize the importance of the contribution allocated to Beach Volleyball and Volleyball development and image by the TV, sponsors and other partners. However, their contribution and their modalities must respect the sport rules and the provisions defined in the WVBF Constitution, Ethical principles and regulations. The TV, sponsors and other partners cannot intervene into the running of the sport institutions and the smooth running of the competitions which are the sole competence of the WVBF and her members.
E. CANDIDATURES, ELIGIBILITY AND EXCLUSION
1. Only the persons who distinguish themselves with a high moral behavior and who accept without exception to obey the Constitution and present Ethical principles, are eligible to the position of official or any body’s member.
The persons who do not or not fulfill any more theses criteria, are not eligible or should be excluded from their position. Are not eligible or should be excluded the persons whose definitive penal condemnation is incompatible with the exercise of his (her) function.
2. The conditions violating the democratic elections procedures and the Ethical principles, and giving advantages to any candidature’s category or excluding any other category are contrary to the democratic principles and cannot be accepted by the members.
3. The election to the WVBF Presidency or to any body’s membership should be held by secret ballot even if there is one sole candidate. As the ballot is secrete, the members cannot, individually or collectively, either announce in any form their voting intention or invite to vote for a candidate.
4. No meeting, no gathering in any form can be held in order to promote a candidature.
5. Equality of opportunity for the candidates must be guaranteed. A candidate in function should not abuse of his (her) position in order to influence the members’ vote.
6. The sanctions applied within the WVBF notably the expulsion of a member must respect the hearing rights of the member and must be based on the provisions foreseen in the WVBF Constitution, Ethical principles and regulations.
F. REPRESENTATION AND BEHAVIOR
1. The members pledge to represent with dignity the WVBF, the regions, the national
federations, Associations and the clubs in all their activities. They will commit to entertain harmonious relations with the IOC, the Olympic movement members, the states, the sponsors and the media in accordance with the WVBF universality, political neutrality principles and the Individual, Federations and Associations independency. However the humanism, fraternity and respect spirit for the human being, who inspire the sport ideals, require from the governments hosting competitions that their countries respect strictly the fundamentals principles of the WVBF Constitution, Ethical principles and regulations.
2. The members are free to participate to the public life of their respective country. However, they shall not exert an activity or believe in an ideology contrary to the ethics, freedom and humanism principles defined in the Constitution and the present Ethical principles.
3. The WVBF members will do their best to safeguard the environment when organizing
competitions. During the competitions, they will commit to respect and have respected the general recognized rules for the environment protection.
G. LOYALTY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
1. The members shall fulfill their functions with an absolute loyalty and they shall not disclose confidential information or documents which they have got in the achievement of their function. The disclosure of information should not generate a personal profit or gain, either be made to tarnish a person or an organization’s reputation.
H. RULES OF PROCEDURE
1. Disciplinary procedures shall be initiated directly by the WVBF Board of administration or the WVBF injured member who cease the Ethics commission. With the exception of the expulsion of a National Federation, Association or a Individual which is the exclusive competence of the Congress and the pure sports cases which are the competence respectively of the organizing committee, legal commission, Board of Administration and by appeal the CAS in Lausanne, the ethics commission can at any time be ceased by the WVBF Board of administration and/or any injured member for any breach of the WVBF Constitution, Ethical principles and regulations. The ethics commission has the full power to investigate with all the means and WVBF support and documentation on the denounced case. The ethics commission recommends to the Board of administration after her inquiry to sanction or not the concerned member(s) according to the international law, Olympic charter and fundamental principles, WVBF Constitution, regulations and present Ethical principles.
2. A sanction may not be proposed to the Board of administration before the WVBF member concerned has had the opportunity to be heard and to present his (her) case.
3. A WVBF member who, after having been sanctioned for a violation of the WVBF Constitution, Ethical principles or regulations, commits another violation of the same kind is subject to an increase in the severity of the sanction.
4. After having received the recommendation of the ethics commission, the WVBF Board of administration will take its decision according to the Constitution and will notify it to the member(s) concerned. This decision will indicate the deadline and appeal process, specifically mentioning the competent institution to revise the decision taken.
I. SANCTION(S) IMPOSED BY THE NATIONAL FEDEARTION OR ASSOCIATIONS
Sanctions imposed by the National Federations or Associations may be appealed to the WVBF Board of Administration within thirty days (30) calendar from their notification.
J. ENTRY INTO FORCE
1. The present Ethical principles will apply to all WVBF members as defined in the Constitution.
2. The members will denounce to the ethics commission any breach of the Constitution and the present Ethical principles.
3. The ethics commission may define criteria and provisions in order to implement the present Ethical principles.
K. FINAL PROVISION
These Ethical principles enter into force immediately as approved by the 2006 WVBF Congress in Copenhagen on 25th November 2006.