Complaints & Social Media

INTRODUCTION
The CMAA will not get involved in any situation, dispute or argument which takes place OUTSIDE of a CMAA registered club, this includes all social media. Complaints will only be accepted relating to activity within a registered club and only if taken place DURING and as PART OF a martial arts lesson or event.
The reason for the above is, besides it being non of our business what members do in their own time, we do not own clubs or employ instructors so they are not and cannot be considered as employees, servants, representatives or agents and as such the CMAA will not be held vicariously liable for their actions either directly or indirectly. We are a service provider and us taking action, giving warnings - revoking membership etc would not stop that persons behaviour if they are intent. They would simply join another group or go on their own and carry on.
To summarise if a situation happens IN a CMAA registered club then we can and will act but only if the situation occurred DURING and PART OF an actual martial arts lesson. Everything outside of this is out of our remit, including incidents before/after a lesson and decisions on who may take belt graduations/gradings and when. To make a comparison big supermarkets can't control their customers when they're not in the store, martial arts groups are no different.

MAKING A COMPLAINT
While initial complaints may be sent via email/text/telephone/social media no action will be taken until a written statement has been received, signed by the person making the complaint, with a full return postal address and backed up with factual evidence. The reason being that for a complaint to have any legal standing we must be able to prove who sent it in, this is difficult to do without a signature and return postal address.

MISUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Our social media policy offers advice and guidance on the use of social media and other platforms, no other advise is or will be given. The social media policy can be downloaded from the Instructor Area on this website and is also available by email upon request.
Freedom of speech is the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. The right to freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). However we all have a duty to be mindful of what we say or type in order that we do not cause offence to another which could then results in Police or Civil action. In these cases the
'author' only has themselves to hold accountable including for any damage they cause to THEIR OWN reputation with or without Police or Civil action.
This does not mean that we won't take action should a prosecution ensue as in theses cases, once evidence has been received, that persons CMAA membership may well be revoked due to the conviction being most likely harassment* which also invalidates insurance cover for that person as this is on the list of convictions the companies won't offer cover to.
*Unwanted communication (direct or indirect), passing derogatory comments about another person on social media, internet pages or other forms of media on 2 or more occasions is a criminal offence under the Protection From Harassment Act 1997 (updated in 2012 to include 'Stalking').

COMPETITIONS
In the interest of remaining 'style nuetral' the CMAA does not host or sanction competitions of any description. If you have a complaint relating to a competition then you must approach the competition organiser direct.

THE ACTION WE WILL TAKE ONCE A COMPLAINT HAS BEEN RECEIVED
When complaints are received (in writing and signed) relating to a situation within a CMAA registered club or at a CMAA event the following will take place dependant on the nature of the complaint.
1. Civil Complaints:
In general terms, a civil complaint is a process through which a person can seek to hold another liable for some type of wrong doing which does not involve any sort of criminal activity. In these cases statements will be gathered from all persons present at the time of the alleged incident and a decision will then be made based on the evidence presented.
2. Criminal Complaints:
Criminal complaints are not for the CMAA to investigate and in these cases the Police must be involved in the first instance. We will require the Police log number along with the name and contact details of the investigating officer. Once these details have been received and verified the personal CMAA membership, of the person concerned, may be suspended dependant on the nature of the allegation(s) against them and a decision will then be made based on action taken by the Police.
Important Note: With regards to both civil and criminal complaints posting about them on social media could weaken any case so it is strongly advised that this does not happen as it could be seen as 'trial by social media' and could also result in harassment charges being brought by return.