RRS 63.7 covers quite a lot of ground.

Here's what I think is some useful guidance in the form of Do's and Don't's.
 

Reopening 

63.7 Reopening a Hearing 

(a)     The protest committee may reopen a hearing if it decides 

(1)    a party was unavoidably absent from the hearing, 

(2)    it may have made a significant error, or 

(3)    significant new evidence has become available within a reasonable time. 

However, a protest committee shall reopen a hearing when required to do so by the national authority under rule 71.3 or R5. 

(b)     A party to the hearing may request a reopening by delivering a written request to the race office (or by such other method as stated in the sailing instructions) no later than 24 hours after being informed of the decision. The request shall identify the reason for making it. However, on the last scheduled day of racing the request shall be delivered 

(1)    within the protest time limit if the requesting party was informed of the decision on the previous day; 

(2)    no later than 30 minutes after the party was informed of the decision on that day. 

A request that does not comply with this rule is invalid. 

(c)      The protest committee shall consider all requests to reopen a hearing. When a request to reopen is being considered, or when the hearing is reopened, 

(1)    if based only on new evidence, a majority of the members of the protest committee shall, if practicable, be members of the original committee; 

(2)    if based on a significant error, the protest committee shall, if practicable, have at least one new member. 

 

Reopening a hearing provides a protest committee with an opportunity to correct its decision when it may have made a significant error.  It does not allow a party to ‘have another go’ by presenting evidence that it was reasonably possible for it to have presented at the original hearing.  RRS 63.7 allows the protest committee to balance up the need for a protest committee’s decision to be correct, against the desirability that a hearing, once decided, should be final and not subject to unlimited further proceedings. 

Some Do’s and Don’t’s 

DO be prepared to review your decisions in a self-critical and fair minded way when there is any doubt that you may have made a mistake. 

DO promptly reopen a hearing whenever you think that you may have made a significant error. 

DO NOT reopen a hearing if the only reason for reopening is a request for reopening by a party that asks to present additional evidence that it was reasonably possible for it to have presented at the original hearing (not ‘new’ evidence as defined in Case 115). 

DO promptly consider all requests to reopen, whether valid or not (RRS 63.7(c)). ‘Considering’ does not necessarily mean conducting a hearing. 

IF, as a result of a request for reopening, you do not immediately decide to reopen a hearing: 

DO consider the progress of the event in deciding whether an error is ‘significant’ or not:  early in a regatta a possible error of one place gained or lost may be significant:  at the end of the regatta, only an error affecting places, prizes or qualification or ranking might be considered ‘significant’. 

IF there is publicly available evidence, such as video, that clearly shows that the protest committee may have made a mistake 

DO record all requests for reopening in the Protest Register and publish all decisions about reopening in the Summary of Decisions or as Notices to Competitors.