FEDERATION CYNOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE (AISBL)
Place Albert 1er, 13, B – 6530 Thuin (Belgique), tel : +32.71.59.12.38, fax : +32.71.59.22.29, email : info@fci.be
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FCI REGULATIONS FOR SHOW JUDGES






CONTENTS
§ 1 General
§ 2 Minimum requirements regarding application, education, examination and nomination as Show Judge
§ 3 Definition of categories of Show Judges within the FCI
§ 4 General conditions for admission as a Show Judge
§ 5 General duties of a Show Judge
§ 6 Behaviour
§ 7 Penalties
§ 8 Enforcement dispositions














§ 1 General

The regulations set forth in §§ 1 through 6 are compulsory for all FCI members and partners and must be considered as MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS of the FCI for any individual (male or female) to be accepted as a Show Judge by his/her national canine organisation, being member of the FCI (hereafter named “FCI National Organisation”, shortly “FCI-NO”). It is up to each FCI member to increase and specify the general requirements set by the FCI. However, under no circumstances, may the rules of each country be in conflict with these FCI regulations.


§ 2 Minimum requirements regarding application, education, examination and nomination as Show Judge

The applications of the candidates wishing to become Show Judges must be accepted under the official FCI-NO’s regulations of the country of residence of the applicant. It is the responsibility of each FCI-NO to provide adequate courses for its candidates to get the necessary education, to prepare the necessary examinations and to take care of their official approval as Show Judges.

The FCI-NO must provide a satisfactory basic judges training programme in order to educate the trainee on the subjects mentioned in § 2, d. subpart 1 - 6. Such training programme must be on offer for the student-judges on a regular basis.
The same programme should be attended by the judges wishing to confirm their knowledge after a long absence from judging as well as for judges wishing to apply for additional breeds.

Such programme should be attended by the candidates before they are required to take the written examination.

In order to be recognised by the FCI as International Show Judge, the candidate applying for a very first breed must comply with the following requirements:

a. Must be of age.

b. At the time of application to become a trainee for one or more breeds, the applicant must prove that he/she has previously been a breeder with a registered affix and must have dogs registered with the official stud-book of his country
or alternatively
that he/she has achieved successful results as an exhibitor of dogs for at least 5 years.
or alternatively
that he/she has had active and responsible involvement in the canine matters for a minimum period of 5 years.

c. Must have been on duty at official shows as a ring steward or secretary at least 5 times over a minimum period of one year in order to become knowledgeable about procedure and regulation matters.

d. The candidate must be examined by the official examination-committee nominated by his FCI-NO and take a written preliminary examination showing sufficient knowledge on the following subjects:

1. Anatomy (statics), morphology and movement (dynamics) of dogs
2. Genetics, health and character
3. Knowledge of the breed standard(s)


4. Behaviour of the judge, principles and techniques of judging
5. National show regulations and other additional national rules
6. FCI Show Regulations and other additional rules

The candidate must “PASS” the written examination in total.

e. Complete breed knowledge is one of the most important factors in judging and a qualified judge must be thoroughly conversant with the FCI - breed standard in order to provide a decision based upon knowledge of the breed being judged.
The practical training should assist the trainee to gain complete knowledge and understanding of the breed(s), all regulations, as well as the procedure in the ring. The practical training consists of the successful completion of an amount of shows where the candidate receives education, subject to having passed the written examination. It is the responsibility of the FCI member organisation to establish a period of time and the amount of practical training.

f. The practical education must be taken under the supervision of FCI recognised and well-experienced Show Judges. The candidate has to write reports on the dogs he/she judged during the education and forward them to said judge who has the responsibility of confirming the aspirant judge’s knowledge, his/her performance and behaviour to the official committee in charge.
After successful completion of the practical education, the aspirant has to take a practical test supervised by the official examination-committee. This examination-committee has to provide a written statement about the test and its results.

g. Once approved by his FCI-NO and declared a Show Judge, a candidate first has to judge the breeds for which he/she has been approved in his/her country of residence over a minimum period of 2 years before he/she is allowed to accept to judge at FCI shows with CACIB outside his/her country of residence.

It is the responsibility of each FCI-NO as member of the FCI to include in their official list of judges of the FCI only those individuals who have fulfilled the requirements stated above, to keep their list as well as all information about every judge updated and to forward it to the FCI Office every year.

ADDITIONAL BREEDS

Show Judges who are already approved to judge one or more breed(s) in any given group and wish to be approved for additional breeds have to apply in writing, must take practical education and pass a written test on the standard of the breed(s) they are applying to judge additionally. A practical test for said breed(s) is also compulsory.

In the case of an absolute impossibility to provide the dogs of a certain breed for the practical test, the candidate must, as an alternative solution, pass an extensive written test on the standard of the breed(s) he/she is applying to judge. This rule applies only to experienced judges who are adding a new breed or new breeds.


§ 3 Definition of categories of Show Judges within the FCI

A Show Judge of a FCI-NO can be:

a) Breed Judge
b) Group Judge
c) Allrounder (All-breed Judge)


The FCI-NOs have to forward to the FCI complete information concerning every judge who is permitted to judge outside his/her country of residence.


a) A Breed Judge is a person who has been approved by his/her own FCI-NO to judge one or more breed(s).

b) A Group Judge is a person who has been approved by his/her national organisation to judge at group level one or more groups of the FCI official groups according to the Nomenclature of Dog Breeds. A group judge is approved to award the CACIB to any breed of said group. Once approved, group judges from member organisations of the FCI are permitted to judge Best in Group (BIG) competitions at CACIB shows for the group(s) for which they are qualified. Group judges from the federated member organisations of the FCI are exempted from the otherwise required authorisation of their FCI-NO.
Furthermore, a group judge is approved to judge BIS at international shows, provided the inviting FCI-NO accepts it and he/she is approved as a group judge for at least 2 of the FCI groups and has been authorised to judge BIS by his/her national organisation.
If a new breed is recognised by the FCI, a Group judge is automatically allowed to judge it provided this breed is in a group which the judge is qualified to judge.
If a breed is transferred to a group for which a judge is not qualified, the judge retains his/her right to judge the breed in question.

In order for an aspirant to be permitted to become a Group judge, he/she must have been officially and regularly judging for at least 4 years at national and international shows. For the rest, the nomination to become a Group judge has to be entirely under the jurisdiction of the concerned FCI-NO, paying particular attention to the number of breeds registered in the country in question.

c) An Allrounder is a judge who has been approved by his/her FCI-NO to judge all breeds of the FCI recognised groups. An Allrounder is approved to award a CACIB in all breeds recognised by the FCI at FCI international shows.
Once approved, Allrounders from member organisations of the FCI are authorised to judge any breed and any competition, incl. Best in Group (BIG) and Best in Show (BIS) at CACIB Shows. Allrounders from the federated member organisations of the FCI are exempted from the otherwise required authorisation of their FCI-NO.
If a new breed is recognised by the FCI, an Allrounder is automatically allowed to judge it.
In order for an aspirant to become an Allrounder, he/she must have been approved for several of the FCI groups. For the rest, the nomination to become an Allrounder has to be entirely under the jurisdiction of the concerned FCI-NO, paying particular attention to the number of breeds registered in the country in question.


§ 4 General conditions for admission as a Show Judge

Only those judges who are included in the list of Show Judges of any FCI member organisation in accordance with previous conditions are allowed to award a CACIB in international shows. The breeds which the judges from FCI partner countries are allowed to judge are clearly listed in the individual contracts signed by the FCI and these partner countries.



- Judges who have been approved by their FCI-NO but have not been judging for a period of 5 years or longer, must take a new practical test before being allowed to judge again. The FCI-NO, before granting a new authorisation to judge, must verify the capacity of the applicant to judge the breed, or breeds, he/she had previously been authorised to judge.

- Judges emigrating to a country whose national canine organisation (hereafter named “NCO”) is not an FCI member or contract partner can, on application to the FCI, remain admitted for the breeds for which they had been licensed in an FCI-NO, provided that no disciplinary action is or has been taken against them, that the inviting organiser is informed about it and that the FCI agrees to it accordingly. The FCI Office keeps a corresponding list and issues the authorisations to judge. The FCI has jurisdiction over these judges.

- Judges emigrating from one country whose NCO is member of the FCI to another one remain admitted and should be approved by the FCI-NO of the new country for the breeds they had been licensed by their former FCI-NO, provided that no disciplinary action is or has been taken against them. An application must be sent by these judges to the FCI-NO of the new country within a maximum period of 3 years after changing residence. This FCI-NO will then be responsible for these judges.


§ 5 General duties of a Show Judge

At shows in countries whose NCO is a member of the FCI, Show Judges must always follow the valid FCI standards of the breeds they are judging, as long as these are not in conflict with national law. They may not interpret any standard in such a manner to be in conflict with the functional health of a dog.

When judging, any Show Judge has to obey strictly these Judges Regulations as well as the FCI Show Regulations and all other rules of FCI.

The judges have to prepare for each show by studying the standards and all other important regulations.

Judges must always be thorough and careful in their work, obey the conventional rules of ethics and respect their judges colleagues and the exhibitors.


§ 6 Behaviour

1. General

Every Show Judge of any FCI member organisation accomplishes an important duty in the international dog society. His/her behaviour should therefore be reliable and be reproachless whether officiating or in his/her private life.

Consequently:

- A judge should never be late for his judging appointments or leave the show ground before he/she has completely fulfilled the duties that were assigned to him/her.
- A judge should not criticise the work of another judge.
- Under no circumstances can a judge solicit appointments to judge.
- A judge is not permitted to consult the catalogue of the show before or during his/her judging.
- In the ring a judge must behave properly and examine all dogs indiscriminately. He/she should be soberly and properly dressed, in accordance with the duty to be fulfilled, and should always be correct and urbane.
- A judge should refrain from smoking in the ring whilst judging.
- A judge should refrain from drinking alcohol in the ring.
- A judge may not enter a dog registered in his/her name on the day of the show where he/she is officiating as a judge.
- A judge may not handle any dog on the day of the show where he/she is officiating as a judge.
- A partner, any member of his/her immediate family or any person living with the judge in his/her household may enter and handle any dog of such breed(s), which this judge is not judging on that day of the show.
- The dogs that a judge handles at a CACIB-show, where he/she is not acting as a judge must be either bred, owned or co-owned by him/her, by a partner, by a member of his/her immediate family or any person living with him/her in his household.
- A judge may not judge any dog that he/she has either owned, co-owned, conditioned, kept or sold in the six months preceding the show where he/she is officiating. The same applies to dogs owned by a partner, a member of his/her immediate family or any person living with him/her in his/her household.
- A judge is not allowed to travel to the shows where he/she is judging with those exhibitors who are showing under him/her at those events.
- Under no circumstances should a judge socialise or stay with the exhibitors who will be showing under him/her. A judge may do so only AFTER his/her judging appointment is completed.

2. Accepting Assignments

a. An FCI Show Judge can only judge at FCI shows or shows organised by member countries of the FCI or its contract partners. He/she is not allowed to judge at events not recognised by the FCI unless those events are held by countries which do not come under the FCI jurisdiction (else than member or contract partner). However, in this case, he/she must get the authorisation from the FCI-NO of his/her country of residence.

b. Upon receiving an invitation to judge in a country outside his/her country of residence, a judge has to make all necessary inquiries to ascertain that the show organisation comes under the jurisdiction of the FCI or is organised by an organisation recognised by FCI.

c. If the show is organised by a club, the judge must verify that this club is officially recognised by the FCI-NO or FCI contract partner of the country where the show is being held.

d. An FCI Show Judge may only judge at a show held outside his/her country of residence if he/she has been authorised in writing by his/her FCI-NO to do so. This authorisation has to be obtained by the show organiser through the FCI-NO where the show is being held and a copy is to be sent to the judge in question.

e. When judging outside his/her country of residence, a judge must be fluent in at least one of the four languages of the FCI (English, French, German or Spanish). In case a judge is unable to fulfil this requirement, he/she is responsible for providing his/her own interpreter if the show organiser requests it.

f. A judge may under no circumstances agree to judge a breed at any show for which he/she is not approved by his/her own national organisation. The same applies for judging at Best in Group and Best in Show level.
§ 7 Penalties

1. Any judge violating the FCI Show Regulations and/or the national as well as the FCI Regulations for Show Judges in any way falls under the jurisdiction of his/her FCI-NO, which has to penalise the judge in question if the violation has been proven. The FCI-NO are obliged to pass a rule which enforces them to penalise any misconduct or any violation of their judges.

2. It must be guaranteed that the judge in question shall be heard, either verbally or in writing. The judge must be given the right to appeal against the decision. No person having been involved in imposing the penalty may be member of the authority where the appeal is made.

3. The FCI-NO should foresee the following penalty options:

a) Settle the case without penalisation
b) Warning with or without threatening to ban the judge from judging
c) Banning the person to judge for a certain period of time
d) Cancellation as a judge
e) Refusal of or recalling permission(s) to judge abroad

4. After becoming legally effective, the FCI has to be informed by its member about the decision.


§ 8 Enforcement dispositions

The Executive Committee of the FCI, especially when parts of these regulations become invalid, may, on its own final decision, take action on changing parts of these regulations in order to ensure the validity of any international event held under FCI rules and to enforce the application of these regulations.

The invalidity of one part or parts of these regulations does not force the whole regulations to become invalid.

These rules come into force immediately upon approval of the General Committee of the FCI and must be distributed to all FCI members and contract partners.



These regulations were approved by the FCI General Committee at the meeting in Madrid, on November 28th, 2001. They become effective from January 1st, 2002. A transition period of two years (deadline Dec. 31st, 2003) has been established, enabling the FCI member organisations and contract partners to adjust their own national regulations.